Chapter 27 Hatred—Part 5

Only then did Lan WangJi turn his head forward again, his gaze still slightly to the side. Seeing this, Wei WuXian blinked, somewhat wanting to tease him. Just as he was about to tease Lan WangJi, a sudden crashing sound came from near the table.

The two of them stood there to look. The teacup and teapot lay shattered on the ground. A  Qiankun Pouch  lay among the broken white porcelain and spilled tea. The pouch’s surface heaved, as if something was trapped inside, desperate to escape.

Although the Qiankun Pouch was only the size of a fist, it was specially made for storing items. Intricate spells were also sewn inside and out, adding several layers of sealing. Lan WangJi had originally sealed the arm inside the pouch and placed it under the teacup on the table. Now, seeing his restlessness, they finally remembered that it was time for a rest. If not for the short duet they had every night to calm him down, no matter how strong the Qiankun Pouch’s suppressive power was, he wouldn’t have been able to trap the ghost hand alone.

Wei WuXian fumbled for the bamboo flute that had been at his waist, but he found nothing. Turning around, he saw Lan WangJi already holding the flute. Lan WangJi’s head was slightly lowered. He only returned the flute after carving it for a while, with great dedication. Wei WuXian picked the flute back up and noticed that after adjusting it, even the rough details like the finger holes had become much smoother.

Lan WangJi, “Play it right.”

Remembering the terrifying duet they had played in Mingshi that had angered Lan QiRen to the point of waking him up from his coma and fainting again, Wei WuXian laughed so hard he nearly fell to the ground, thinking to himself,  It must have been hard for him these past few days, tolerating this for so long.  He restrained himself from messing around any longer and, with a solemn expression, raised the flute to his lips. However, after only playing a few notes, the Qiankun Pouch suddenly expanded and stood upright on the ground!

A cracking note sounded like a “tut.” Wei WuXian commented, “Is he too used to bad playing? I played it right for the first time, and he doesn’t like it.”

As if in response, the Qiankun Pouch flung itself toward Wei WuXian. Lan WangJi’s melody changed sharply. With one smooth movement, all seven strings vibrated simultaneously, emitting a sound so powerful it almost sounded like an avalanche. After that sound, the Qiankun Pouch fell back to the ground. As if nothing had happened, Wei WuXian continued playing. Lan WangJi’s wrists softened. Following the notes of ”  Restor  ,” the guqin’s melody returned to its calm, slowly blending with the flute’s.

The song ended, and the Qiankun Pouch finally shrank back to its original size, remaining motionless. Wei WuXian tucked the flute into his waistband, “He’s never looked this impatient these past few days. It seems like he’s been triggered by something.”

Lan WangJi nodded and turned to him, “And, that’s up to you.”

Wei WuXian immediately lowered his head. Today, there was only one thing different about him—the Curse Mark transferred from Jin Ling.

Jin Ling’s Curse Mark was left on him while he was in the stone castle on Xinglu Ridge. Seeing how strongly the ghost hand reacted to the Curse Mark, does that mean…

Wei WuXian, “You mean, there might be other body parts within the walls of Nie Sect’s Sword Hall?”

The next morning, the two set off again, heading for Xinglu Ridge.

Yesterday, Nie HuaiSang had been caught and confessed to everything. He had spent the night summoning all the sect’s capable disciples to clean up the mess the intruders had created. When Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi walked over, the piece of wall where Wei WuXian had dug out Jin Ling had just been filled in, and a new corpse had been placed inside. Seeing the neatly arranged white bricks, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. However, when he turned around, his legs almost gave out. He put on a grimace, “HanGuang-Jun… and you…”

Wei WuXian waved his hand with a grin, “Sect Leader Nie, are you building a wall?”

Nie HuaiSang wiped away the sweat with his handkerchief, rubbing it so many times that it almost tore off a layer of his skin, “Yes, yes…”

Wei WuXian said in a tone full of empathy and a little embarrassment, “Forgive me. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, but you may need to build the wall again later.”

Nie HuaiSang, “Ya, ya… Apa?! Tunggu!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Bichen drew his sword. Nie HuaiSang gaped as the brick wall he had just repaired cracked again.

Destruction is always easier than restoration. Wei WuXian’s speed in tearing down bricks was many times faster than theirs in stacking them. Nie HuaiSang trembled as he gripped his fan tightly, feeling so wronged that he was on the verge of tears. However, since HanGuang-Jun stood aside and didn’t say anything, he didn’t dare say anything. After Lan WangJi briefly explained the situation to him, he immediately swore to Heaven and Earth, “Nonsense! That’s utter nonsense! The corpses our Sword Hall uses are all complete with every limb still attached. It’s impossible for a man’s corpse to be without an arm. If you don’t believe me, I’ll dismantle this wall with you and prove my innocence. But after that, you must return it as soon as possible, without delay. After all, this is our ancestral burial ground…”

Several Nie Sect disciples also joined them. Since there were already others working on it, Wei WuXian retreated and stood aside, waiting for the results. After an hour, most of the bricks on the wall where Jin Ling was buried had been removed. Some disciples wore face masks, while others swallowed special red pills to prevent human breath and energy from causing corpse transformation. Among the black soil, the occasional pale hand or veined foot appeared, alongside tangled, dirty hair stuck everywhere. Each male corpse was hastily cleaned and laid out row by row on the ground.

The bodies came in all shapes and sizes—some were skeletons, some were decomposing, and some were still fresh. However, all of them were intact. They didn’t find the body of the man missing his left arm.

Nie HuaiSang said carefully, “Tearing down this one wall is enough, right? Is there anything else that needs to be torn down? Probably not, right?”

It was enough. The Curse Mark on Jin Ling’s body was very dark, so the creature that created it was most likely buried nearby, and its reach definitely wouldn’t extend beyond this wall. Wei WuXian crouched beside the row of corpses. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to Lan WangJi, “Should we take the Qiankun Pouch?”

Taking the left hand out of the Qiankun Pouch to identify the corpse itself wasn’t a bad idea. However, if it were too close to the other limbs, it would be difficult to avoid disturbing them and triggering a worse situation. And, because of the abundance of dark energy in this particular location, the danger level was doubled. This was why they had cautiously chosen to come during the day. Wei WuXian shook his head and thought,  This doesn’t mean the arm isn’t a man’s, right? No, that’s impossible. I can tell whether a hand belongs to a man or a woman at first glance… Then, does that mean the owner has three arms?!

Just as he was about to laugh at his own thoughts, Lan WangJi spoke again, “His legs.”

After being reminded, Wei WuXian finally remembered. He ignored the fact that the Curse Mark hadn’t spread beyond his legs. He immediately shouted, “Take off your pants! Take off your pants!”

Nie HuaiSang was shocked to death, “Why did you say such embarrassing things in front of HanGuang-Jun?”

Wei WuXian replied, “What’s embarrassing? We’re all men, anyway. Help me take off the pants of all the corpses. Only the male ones! This has nothing to do with the female ones.” As he spoke, he began to reach out toward the waistbands of the corpses lying on the ground. It was truly unfortunate for Nie HuaiSang. He had never expected that, after confessing everything yesterday, today, he would have to take off the pants of those corpses right inside his ancestor’s Sword Hall. After all, they were male corpses. With a face full of tears, he thought that, surely, after he died, he would be slapped once in the face by every ancestor in the QingheNie Sect and end up with such severe injuries that he would be disfigured even after reincarnating. Fortunately, Wei WuXian’s actions were stopped by Lan WangJi. Just as Nie HuaiSang was about to praise how deserving his title of HanGuang-Jun was, he heard him say, “I’ll do it.”

Wei WuXian, “You would do it? You would really do something like that?”

The corners of Lan WangJi’s eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he was holding something back. He repeated, “Don’t move. I’ll do it.”

This was the worst shock Nie HuaiSang had experienced today.

Of course, Lan WangJi wouldn’t actually use his hands to pull down the corpses’ pants. He simply used Bichen to slightly slice open the corpses’ clothes, revealing the skin underneath. This wasn’t necessary for some of the corpses, as their clothes were already tattered enough. A moment later, he said, “I found it.”

Everyone immediately looked to the ground. On the corpse’s thighs, next to Lan Wangji’s white boots, there were two thin circular marks. The flesh-colored thread stitched them tightly together. There was a slight difference in skin color above and below the stitches. Clearly, the corpse’s legs and upper body did not belong to the same person.

This pair of legs was sewn by someone!

Nie HuaiSang was already shocked and speechless. Wei WuXian asked, “Who selected the corpses that the Nie Sect used for the Sword Hall?”

Nie HuaiSang replied blankly, “Usually, the sect leaders of the past would choose and keep them while they were still alive. My older brother died at a young age. He didn’t have enough money, so I helped him choose some… I kept any corpses that were still intact with all their limbs. I don’t know anything else beyond this…”

It was impossible to get any information from him about who exactly smuggled the corpse in. From the people who provided the corpse to the Nie Sect followers, there were countless suspects. The truth would most likely only be revealed if they found all the body parts and reunited the corpse and soul.

Finally managing to separate a pair of legs and the other half of the man’s body, Wei WuXian put them into a new Qiankun Pouch while saying to Lan WangJi, “It looks like our good friend was dismembered. And, not only that, the pieces are scattered everywhere—one piece here, one piece there. How much hatred did the murderer have for him? We can only hope the pieces aren’t too small.”

Although Nie HuaiSang still said “goodbye” as they left, judging by his terrified expression, he likely didn’t want to see them again for the rest of his life. The two of them left Xinglu Hill and returned to the inn. Upon arriving at a relatively safe location, they pulled out the three limbs and began examining them. As they had suspected, the two limbs were the same color as the severed arms. And, if brought close together, they would react violently, vibrating incessantly as if trying to merge. However, their efforts were futile, as one limb was still missing. They were definitely the same person. 

Besides the fact that this man was tall, long-armed, muscular, and virtuous, they knew nothing else about the mysterious corpse. Fortunately, the ghostly hand quickly indicated where his next move would be—Southwest.

Mengikuti arahannya, Wei WuXian dan Lan WangJi menuju Yueyang.

Translator’s Notes

Qiankun Pouch  : It was called Qiankun Bag in previous chapters, but has now been changed to Qiankun Pouch as it better suits its size.