Chapter 122: Extra—Intrusion (Part Three)

“…” Young Master Qin pretended to be fine, “I’m not too sure about that. I don’t know how harsh the servant who punished him was, but he was one of our servants after all, so I never intended to do anything to him. If he harbors hatred towards me behind his back but doesn’t dare to say it, I can’t do anything about it either.”

Listening to the conversation from the side, Lan SiZhui couldn’t help but say, “Young Master Qin, this… this is a bit too far… from your initial explanation. When my two seniors asked you to explain so many things, why did you hide so much from them?”

Young Master Qin, “I thought swords and talismans were enough to keep my family peaceful. How could I have known I needed to tell such meaningless old stories?”

Wei WuXian spoke dramatically, “No, no, no—this isn’t some meaningless old story. The situation was rather dire, Young Master Qin! Think about it. You scolded and beat him before he died, perhaps even breaking his legs. If he really didn’t sell the jade pendant, it would be a wrongful death. Who else would he find if not you?”

Young Master Qin immediately replied, “Well, I didn’t kill him! It wasn’t suicide either! Why would he be looking for me?”

Wei WuXian, “Hm? How do you know it wasn’t suicide? Maybe he really did commit suicide on impulse, but everyone else thought it was an accident. That would be even worse.”

Young Master Qin, “How could a grown man commit suicide over something so trivial?”

Wei WuXian, “Young Master Qin, assumptions are the most dangerous thing in our line of work. Every individual has different levels of tolerance and sensitivity. It’s hard to say whether a grown man would commit suicide over ‘something so trivial.’ You should know—the reason behind a corpse resurrecting could be due to hatred for a stolen wife or a murdered son, but it could also be due to something as minor as Person A refusing to play with Person B when they were young.”

Young Master Qin was still hesitant, “That’s definitely not suicide! If you want to commit suicide, you can hang yourself or drink poison, but who would want to fall from a mountain? You don’t even know if you’ll survive. That’s definitely not suicide.”

Wei WuXian, “You do make sense. But, Young Master Qin, have you ever thought about the possibility that he fell down the mountain just because you broke his leg and couldn’t walk properly? If that were the case, then round it up, and wouldn’t that mean you killed him? Wouldn’t that be worse?”

Young Master Qin growled, “What do you mean, gather them all and I kill them? Then it’s an accident!”

Wei WuXian, “Are you sure you want to convince someone who died in such a manner that his death was an ‘accident’? The fact that he came back means someone has to be responsible for this ‘accident,’ right?”

As soon as Young Master Qin said one thing, he immediately followed up with another, his rebuttal causing sweat to bead on Young Master Qin’s grim face. Wei WuXian spoke again, “But there’s no need to despair. I’ll tell you one last way to protect yourself. You can do this for now.”

Young Master Qin, “Doing what?!”

With just one glance at Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi knew that Wei WuXian was about to start babbling again. He shook his head.

Wei WuXian, “Listen carefully. You must keep the two doors that have been broken open. After all, you won’t be able to let that thing out with the doors closed.”

Young Master Qin, “Yes!”

Wei WuXian, “Keep the remaining people in your house away, so that those who are not important don’t get hurt.”

Young Master Qin, “Most of them have already left!”

Wei WuXian, “Good. Then, find a young virgin with abundant Yang energy to guard your room on a bench in the middle of the night. He’ll handle whatever happens.”

“Just that?”

Wei WuXian, “Alright. The maiden has arrived. As for the rest, just ignore them all, Young Master Qin, and sleep until dawn.”

The person he was pointing at was Lan SiZhui. When Young Master Qin heard the last sentence, his lips twitched uncontrollably as he glanced at the gentle-looking boy, “If he’s guarding the door, what about you two?”

Wei WuXian, “Of course we’ll stay behind the door and accompany you, Young Master Qin. If the door breaks and the corpse breaks in, we’ll do something.”

Young Master Qin couldn’t hold it in any longer, “Can’t this Young Master just help me guard the door?”

The one he pointed to was Lan WangJi.

And Wei WuXian was stunned, “Who do you mean? Him?”

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

Only with Lan WangJi wrapping his arm around his shoulders did Wei WuXian manage to stand, “No.”

Young Master Qin was very unhappy with the curt refusal, “Why not?”

Wei WuXian’s face was serious, “Did you forget what I said? You have to be a virgin.”

“…” Young Master Qin didn’t believe him, “What, he’s not?”

Long after Lan SiZhui accompanied Young Master Qin out of the Bamboo Hut, Wei WuXian was still laughing out loud.

Lan WangJi glanced at him before suddenly pulling Wei WuXian to his feet. His voice was calm, “Is that enough?”

Wei WuXian, “Tidak!”

Sitting on Lan WangJi’s lap, she continued, “HanGuang-Jun, your face is so devious. Everyone says you’re pure, holy, and an ascetic. I feel so wronged.”

Lan WangJi lifted him up a little so that Wei WuXian was sitting higher and the two were closer, “Robbed?”

Wei WuXian, “Nonsense. You know, you’re clearly not a virgin anymore, but when people see your face, they say you’re still a virgin no matter what. In my previous life, I never touched a woman’s hand except when I was trying to save someone, but no one believed that I was still a virgin.” He began to count, “Night hunting while at school! Everyone gossiped about me fooling around with women. On top of Burial Mound! Everyone gossiped about me being an anarchic satyr. What a bitter loneliness I was destined to suffer.”

Silently, Lan WangJi placed his hand on Wei WuXian’s, a subtle smile appearing in the depths of his eyes.

Wei WuXian, “And you’re smiling. You really are a cold and heartless man. After all, I’m ranked fourth on the list of young masters, but in that one lifetime, I’ve only kissed someone once. I always thought that a beautiful girl would like me, thinking that I, Wei Ying, had lived a life that wasn’t in vain. But who would have thought it was actually you…”

At this point, Lan WangJi finally couldn’t sit still any longer.

He turned around and pressed Wei WuXian onto the bed, “Don’t you want it on me?”

“What’s got you so worried? Hahahahahahahahaha…”

When the time came, Lan SiZhui had been waiting for quite some time, standing in the courtyard with Lil’ Apple on the leash, when Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi finally came out of the house.

He wanted to say, Senior Wei, you accidentally wore HanGuang-Jun’s clothes again. But after thinking it over, he still swallowed the words.

Besides, Wei WuXian wore the wrong clothes every few days. If he kept reminding Wei WuXian, wouldn’t he die of exhaustion?

And every time Senior Wei kept wearing it because he found it too much trouble to change it. Feeling there was no point in reminding him, Lan SiZhui decided it was better to pretend he hadn’t seen anything.

Wei WuXian climbed onto Little Apple and took an apple from his belt pouch, taking a bite until it crunched. Lan SiZhui stared at the apple, finding it familiar. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Senior Wei, is that one of the fruits Young Master Qin brought?”

Wei WuXian, “That’s right.”

Lan SiZhui, “… The fruit brought by the violent corpse?”

Wei WuXian, “Tepat sekali.”

Lan SiZhui, “Is it really safe to eat it?”

Wei WuXian, “Of course. Besides, it just fell on the ground. You can eat it after washing it.”

Lan SiZhui, “Is the vicious corpse apple poisonous…”

Wei WuXian, “I can answer this question for you—no.”

Lan SiZhui, “How do you know, Senior?”

Wei WuXian, “Because I already fed half a dozen to Lil’ Apple… Stop, Lil’ Apple! Don’t kick me!! Help me, Lan Zhan!!!”

Lan WangJi held the reins of the mad donkey with one hand, and with the other hand took the apple near Wei WuXian’s mouth, “Just leave it. We can buy it tomorrow.”

Wei WuXian held his shoulders, finally managing to calm down, “Alright, I’m trying to save up for HanGuang-Jun, right?”

Lan WangJi, “That will never be necessary.”

Wei WuXian scratched his chin, grinning. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. He asked casually, “Oh, right, SiZhui, are you still a virgin?”

He asked as naturally as usual, but Lan SiZhui suddenly said ‘pfft’.

That action was so unlike Lan. Upon noticing Lan WangJi glancing at him, Lan SiZhui immediately calmed down. Wei WuXian added, “Don’t be nervous. I made up everything I told Young Master Qin. Some spells and such do require virgins, but since you were slashing a ferocious corpse with a sword, it doesn’t really make much of a difference whether you’re a virgin or not. But if you weren’t, I’d be quite surprised…”

Before he even finished speaking, Lan SiZhui was already stuttering, his face red, “OOO-Of course!!!”

In the middle of the night, the empty Qin residence opened wide as expected. Young Master Qin had been waiting for them for a long time.

Lan SiZhui stood in front of Young Master Qin’s door, looking quite capable even without his armor. Seeing his fearless youthful spirit, Young Master Qin stopped frowning gloomily, but he still didn’t relax. After entering his bedroom, he closed the door and turned around, “Is it really okay to let Young Master guard the door? What if the exorcism fails and, worse, another life is lost in my house…”

The other two people were already sitting at the table. Wei WuXian replied, “There will be no lives lost. Young Master Qin, just imagine how long that corpse will haunt—will there be a single life lost in your house?”

Young Master Qin sat down. Wei WuXian placed one of the corpse pears on the table, “Eat the fruit to calm your nerves.”

Under the pressure of those days, Young Master Qin was already a bit dazed. He picked it up and put it in his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a series of sounds of ‘thud, thud’, ‘thud, thud’.

Suddenly, a gust of cold air swept through the room. The candlelight on the table flickered.

The pear in Young Master Qin’s hand fell to the ground, rolling to the side. Once again, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

‘You’, ‘you’, ‘you’.

The sound grew louder and closer. Each time it sounded, the fire trembled as if in fear.

The sharp hiss of a sword being drawn came from behind the door. A faint shadow glided past the paper window. The sound immediately faded, replaced by the sound of fluttering sleeves and the sound of splintering wooden furniture.

Young Master Qin’s face darkened, “What happened outside?!”

Wei WuXian, “They just started fighting. Don’t mind them.”

Lan WangJi listened for a moment, “Excessive.”

Wei WuXian understood what he meant. From the sound of swords and footsteps, he could tell that Lan SiZhui’s swordsmanship was swift and fierce, lacking in steadfastness. It wasn’t that his swordsmanship was inadequate, but rather incompatible with the GusuLan Sect’s swordsmanship. If his strengths weren’t in harmony, or if he used too many different methods, he might reach a dead end after cultivating to a higher level.

He replied, “He’s already quite skilled. Si Zhui is still young. He can’t control his attacks yet. He’ll learn once he grows up and gains more experience dueling with opponents.”

Lan Wangji shook his head. He listened again before suddenly turning to Wei Wuxian.

Wei WuXian was also somewhat surprised. He had heard this too. Earlier, some of Lan SiZhui’s attacks weren’t from the GusuLan Sect, but from the YunmengJiang Sect.

However, he never taught it to the juniors of the GusuLan Sect. He speculated, “SiZhui and the others routinely hunt at night with Jin Ling. He probably subconsciously remembered it while dueling with him.”

Lan WangJi, “That’s inappropriate.”

Wei WuXian, “Then are you going to punish him after you get back?”

Lan Wangji, “Ya.”

Young Master Qin, “What are you talking about?”

Wei WuXian picked up the pear from the ground and placed it in his hand once more, “It’s okay. Eat something to calm your nerves. Don’t be so nervous.” After that, he grinned at Lan WangJi, “On the other hand, HanGuang-Jun, you’re truly amazing. No wonder I knew it was the Yunmeng sword technique, but how did you know?”

As if after a short pause, Lan WangJi finally answered, “I learned it after dueling with you many times.”

Wei WuXian, “That’s why I said you were amazing. Those few times over a decade ago were the only times I fought you with the YunmengJiang Sect’s swordsmanship, right? Thinking back after listening to it for a while—wasn’t it amazing?”

As he spoke, he pushed the candle toward Lan WangJi, wanting to see if his earlobes were red. However, Lan WangJi sensed his malicious intent. He placed his fingers firmly on Wei WuXian’s hand holding the candle. With the flickering flame, the candlelight was like a cup of wine, reflecting Wei WuXian’s smirking eyes and curled lips. Lan WangJi’s throat trembled slightly.

At this point, both of them fell silent. Wei WuXian exclaimed, “Huh?” Young Master Qin looked as if he was facing great danger. “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the candle?”

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian replied, “It’s nothing. The candles are fine. It would be better if they were brighter.”

He turned to Lan WangJi, “These movements may be some of SiZhui’s best. But they don’t sound like they belong to your sect or mine.”

A moment later, Lan WangJi replied with slightly furrowed brows, “Perhaps they are from the Wen Sect.”

Wei WuXian understood, “Wen Ning probably taught him. Fair enough.”

As they spoke, the rumbling continued outside, gradually growing louder. Young Master Qin’s face darkened. Wei WuXian also began to sense something was wrong, calling out from outside, “SiZhui, we’ve already exchanged a dozen sentences. It’s time for you to finish, even if you’re trying to tear this house down, right?”

Lan SiZhui replied, “Senior Wei, that corpse dodged very quickly, and kept avoiding me!”

Wei WuXian, “Is he afraid of you?”

Lan SiZhui, “No. He can fight. But he doesn’t seem to want to fight me!”

Wei WuXian pondered, “He doesn’t want to hurt anyone who is irrelevant?”

He turned to Lan WangJi, “This is interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a reasonable violent corpse.”

On the other hand, Young Master Qin looked annoyed, “Will he be okay? Why isn’t he finished yet?”

Wei WuXian hadn’t even opened his mouth when Lan SiZhui spoke again, “HanGuang-Jun, Senior Wei, the corpse’s hands were clawed on the left and clenched on the right. It looked like it was holding something!”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi exchanged glances into the room. Wei WuXian nodded slowly. Lan WangJi ordered, “SiZhui, sheathe your sword.”

Lan SiZhui was stunned, “HanGuang-Jun? I haven’t contacted you yet…”

Wei WuXian stood up, “It’s okay! Sheath your sword. There’s no need to fight anymore.”

Young Master Qin, “No need to fight anymore?”

From outside the door, Lan SiZhui replied, “Yes!” With a ‘clang’ sound, he sheathed his sword and jumped to dodge. Inside, Young Master Qin grumbled, “What does this mean? That thing is still outside!”

Wei WuXian stood up, “There’s no need to fight anymore. I mean, the matter is almost over. Just one more step.”

Young Master Qin, “Which step?”

Forcibly, Wei WuXian kicked the door open, “This is my last move!”

The two wooden doors opened with a bang. A dark figure stood stiffly in front of them, his hair disheveled and his face dirty. His white eyes shone eerily.

Seeing that face, Young Master Qin’s expression immediately changed. He drew his sword and quickly retreated, but the ferocious corpse charged in like a black storm, grabbing his neck with its left hand.

Lan SiZhui had just entered. Seeing the situation, just as he was about to help, he was stopped by Wei WuXian. Lan SiZhui thought that although Young Master Qin had a harsh and unpleasant character, he wasn’t so immoral as to deserve death. His two seniors definitely wouldn’t stand by and watch the corpse kill him. With this, he calmed down a bit.

The dead servant’s fingers were like iron tongs. Young Master Qin’s face was flushed, his forehead bulging with veins. His sword had pierced countless holes in the corpse, but it was as futile as stabbing a blank sheet of paper.

The corpse slowly raised its right fist and slowly smashed it towards Young Master Qin’s face, as if it was going to blow his brains out with one punch. The other three people in the room were stunned by the scene, especially Lan SiZhui, who could barely keep his hand on the sword.

Just when he was sure Young Master Qin’s head was about to shatter, he saw the corpse’s fingers loosen. A flat, round object slid out from between his fingers.

The object was tied at both ends with a black rope. The corpse then wrapped it around Young Master Qin’s neck.

Young Master Qin, “…”

Lan SiZhui, “…”

Only after three tries did he manage to place it on Young Master Qin’s head. The difficult movement felt so stiff and awkward that it was… the exact opposite of threatening.

Seeing that the creature was not going to attack or use its rope to strangle Young Master Qin, both of them breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.

However, before they could catch their breath, the corpse launched a lightning-like punch. Young Master Qin screamed and fell to the ground, blood spurting from his nose and mouth.

After finishing the corpse, he turned around and appeared to be leaving. Lan SiZhui watched the scene with his mouth agape. Seeing this, he returned his sword to his hand, but he felt the situation was so absurd that it would be even more absurd if he took it seriously. He didn’t know whether to attack or not. Wei WuXian, on the other hand, was already laughing out loud, waving his hand at Lan SiZhui, “Don’t worry. Just leave it alone.”

The ferocious corpse turned and stared at him. Nodding, it dragged its broken leg and limped out the door.

Seeing his fleeing figure, Lan SiZhui was only able to speak a moment later, “Senior Wei, is… it really okay to just leave him like this?”

Lan WangJi bent down to examine Young Master Qin’s bleeding face, “Yes.”

Lan SiZhui’s gaze returned to Young Master Qin. He finally had the time to realize that hanging around his neck was a jade pendant.

The red string that bound the pendant looked as if it had been lying around in the dirt for years. It was so dirty that the pendant appeared black, even though the jade itself was still a warm white.

“This…”

Wei WuXian, “Returned to its original owner.”

After Lan WangJi confirmed that Young Master Qin had only fainted and was not dying, the two left the Qin residence with Lan SiZhui.

Before they left, Wei WuXian kindly closed all three doors for Young Master Qin.

Lan SiZhui, “It’s not easy, is it?”

Wei WuXian rode on Lil’ Apple, “What? You mean Young Master Qin? Being able to end this with just one punch from that beast corpse—that’s the easiest thing ever!”

Lan SiZhui, “I didn’t mean Young Master Qin; I meant that ferocious corpse. From everything I’ve read, most recorded ghost stories of revenge begin with the underestimation of goodness in life and end with murder in death, with a sense of utter madness. However, this corpse…”

Standing in front of the door that was scratched to pieces, Lan SiZhui turned around and looked once more, “He spent two years after being revived in the mountains searching for the jade pendant he lost before dying. This is the first time I’ve seen a vicious corpse rise to do something like that, instead of killing someone for revenge.”

Wei WuXian took out another apple, “That’s why I said it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a vicious corpse. With someone else who was a little more prone to hatred, they could have broken one of Young Master Qin’s legs or even killed his entire family, and that wouldn’t be anything special.”

Lan SiZhui thought about it, “Senior, I still have an unanswered question. In the end, was Young Master Qin’s leg broken because of him or not? Was this the reason for his death?”

Wei WuXian, “Besides, he doesn’t think Young Master Qin is the one responsible for all this.”

Lan SiZhui, “Okay. Then, is he really satisfied with just one punch?”

Lan WangJi, “From what it looks like, yes.”

Wei WuXian chewed on the apple, “Right, right? They say everyone fights for a single breath. When someone dies in a fit of revenge, it’s all because that breath is still stuck in their chest. He threw all the fruit away, returned the jade pendant, and beat Young Master Qin to a pulp. Once he exhales that breath, it won’t be stuck anymore.”

Lan SiZhui, “It would be good if every spirit were wise.”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian sneered, “What are you talking about, young man? Even humans lose their minds when faced with hatred, and you expect spirits to retain their minds? You should know—most people in this world find themselves quite pitiful.”

Lan WangJi gently pulled Lil’ Apple’s reins, his voice calm, “She’s lucky.”

Wei WuXian agreed, “Indeed. Young Master Qin is quite lucky.”

After a while, Lan SiZhui finally couldn’t hold back his words any longer. He sincerely said, “But I still feel like one punch might be a bit too short…”

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha…”

Whether he was still in shock from the corpse’s blow or had finally given up on Wei WuXian, in the next few days, Young Master Qin didn’t visit him again.

However, seven days later, news of him wandering around the city reached here.

Legend has it that one morning, a young corpse in tattered funeral robes was found in the middle of the road. The corpse was half-decomposed and emitted a pungent stench. As the crowd discussed whether to wrap it in a mat and bury it in the ditch, the lone Young Master Qin generously provided the funds to collect the body and give it a proper burial. For a time, he received universal praise.

When Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian left the city and passed by the Qin residence, shiny new doors had long been installed. People were rushing in and out, leaving no trace of the previous chaos and destruction. The atmosphere was indeed bustling.