Chapter 33 Grass—Part One

The Shudong area is rich with rivers and valleys. With towering peaks and rugged terrain, only a gentle breeze passes through the area, leaving much of the area shrouded in mist.

Walking straight in the direction pointed by the left hand, the two of them arrived at a fairly small village.

Several fences surrounded the mud-thatched houses. Flocks of colorful chicks scurried in and out of the yards, pecking at the ground for rice. A large, brightly feathered rooster stood on one leg on the roof. With its quivering comb, it looked down haughtily, its neck dangling from side to side. Fortunately, no one kept dogs. The villagers likely only got a few scraps of meat a year, let alone any leftover bones for the dogs to eat.

In front of the village, a forked road led in three different directions. Two of them were rather barren. Covered with numerous footprints, they clearly showed frequent use. However, the final path had become overgrown with weeds. A square sign made from a single piece of stone was placed crookedly across this path. Due to age and weathering, the sign was split down the middle, with a large crack. Even from within the crack, withered weeds were poking out.

Two large letters, which seemed to represent the destination of the road, had been carved onto the sign. The letters beneath them were clearly the letters for “city.” However, the letters above them were intricate, both in shape and in brushstrokes. The crack happened to run through it, causing several stone fragments to scatter across the ground. Wei WuXian bent down and brushed aside the weeds. Even after staring at it for a long time, he still couldn’t make out what the letters were.

Coincidentally, the direction the left hand was pointing was indeed this road.

Wei WuXian, “Why don’t we ask the villagers?”

Lan WangJi nodded. Of course, Wei WuXian didn’t expect  him  to ask. With a wide smile on his face, Wei WuXian walked toward the village women who were feeding the chickens.

Among the women in the group, some were old and some were young. Noticing the arrival of an unknown man, they all looked nervous, as if they wanted to throw away their dustpans and go back inside. Only after Wei WuXian exchanged a few words with them, with cheerful smiles on his face, did they finally calm down and answer shyly.

When Wei WuXian pointed to the signboard and asked a question, their expressions immediately changed. They fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly began chatting with him. Throughout their conversation, they didn’t dare look at Lan WangJi, who was standing near the signboard. With the corners of his lips still curled upward, Wei WuXian listened intently. Finally, it seemed as if the topic had shifted, and the women’s expressions calmed down. They gradually relaxed and began to smile shyly at him.

Lan WangJi watched them from a distance. He waited a while, but Wei WuXian still seemed reluctant to return. He slowly looked down at the ground, then kicked a small rock near his feet.

He stepped on it for a long time, rolling the plain stone over and over again. When he looked up again, he saw Wei WuXian take something out of his sleeve and hand it to the woman who had been doing most of the talking.

Lan WangJi stood still, a blank expression on his face. When he truly couldn’t control himself any longer, ready to approach them, Wei WuXian finally walked over leisurely.

He stood beside Lan WangJi, “HanGuang-Jun, you should go. There are even rabbits in the courtyard!”

Lan WangJi didn’t react to his teasing comment and replied with feigned indifference, “What was their answer?”

Wei WuXian, “This road leads to Yi City. The first character on the sign is ‘yi’.”

Lan WangJi, “Yi is like a knight?”

Wei WuXian, “Yes and no.”

Lan WangJi, “And why is that?”

Wei WuXian, “The characters are correct, but the meaning is wrong. It’s not yi that means knight, but yi that means  coffin house  .”

They stepped over the weeds and walked along the path, quickly passing the sign. Wei WuXian continued, “The girls said that, since ancient times, most people in the town died early, either due to shortness of age or accidents, so there were many coffin houses to temporarily store the dead. Furthermore, their specialty was making coffins,  paper money  , and various other funerary items. Everyone was skilled at making coffins or paper mannequins, which is why the place was known by that name.”

Besides withered weeds and boulders, the path was also filled with cracks and ditches that were hard to see. Lan WangJi kept his eyes on Wei WuXian’s every step, while Wei WuXian spoke as he walked, “They say people here rarely go to Yi City. Those inside don’t leave either, except for exporting goods. In recent years, almost no one has been seen leaving. No one has passed this path for years. That certainly explains why it’s so difficult to pass.”

Lan WangJi, “Dan?”

Wei WuXian, “Then what?”

Lan WangJi, “What did you give them?”

Wei WuXian, “Oh. You mean that? It’s red.”

When they were in Qinghe, he had bought a small packet of rouge from a shaman who had given him information about the Xinglu Mountains, and had always kept it with him. Wei WuXian, “You have to show your gratitude to people when you ask for something, right? I wanted to give them money, but they were too scared to take it. They seemed to really like the scent of the rouge. They probably hadn’t used anything like it before, so I gave it to them.”

After a moment of silence, she added, “HanGuang-Jun, why are you looking at me like that? I know the quality of the blush isn’t that great. But I’m not like I used to be, when I always brought lots of flowers and jewelry to give to those girls. I really don’t have anything left to give them. At least it’s better than nothing.”

As if an unpleasant memory had surfaced, Lan WangJi’s brows twitched, and he slowly turned his head.

Walking along the rough path, the weeds gradually thinned, creeping to the sides of the path, and the path widened. However, the fog grew thicker.

As his left hand clenched, a city gate lay in ruins at the end of the long road.

The tower at the front of the town had peeling paint and a broken roof. With one corner peeling off, it looked utterly dilapidated. The town walls were covered in graffiti by an unknown source, while the red of the doors had faded to white, and every nail on the door was rusted and black. A pair of doors were left ajar, as if someone had just opened a crack and slipped in.

Even before entering, one can feel that this place is definitely haunted by ghosts and demons roaming around.

As he walked along the path, Wei WuXian carefully observed his surroundings. At the city gate, he commented, “The feng shui is terrible.”

Lan WangJi nodded unhurriedly, “Barren mountains and fast-flowing rivers.”

Yi City was surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs. The cliffs sloped sharply toward the center, appearing both menacing and narrowing, as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Hemmed in by these dark, massive peaks and shrouded in a pale white mist, the city looked more terrifying than a monster. Even just standing here filled one with a feeling of anxiety and suffocation, accompanied by a strong sense of menace.

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that “a person’s greatness brings glory to their birthplace.” The opposite adage also exists. In some places, due to their terrain or location, the feng shui can be quite poor. Surrounded by naturally negative energy, anyone living there is prone to premature death or general misfortune. If all their ancestors lived there, they would be even more unlucky. Furthermore, unusual occurrences such as the rebirth of the dead or the return of spirits are common. It’s clear that Yi City is such a place.

Places like these were usually located in remote locations not under the control of any cultivation sect. Of course, even if they were under the control of any sect, the sects wouldn’t be willing to help. Such a situation was truly exasperating, even more so than the Water Abyss. The Water Abyss could be exorcised, but feng shui was difficult to change. If no one cried out at their door, the sects would simply turn a blind eye and feign ignorance.

For city dwellers, the easiest solution is to leave. However, if a family has lived in a remote area for generations, it’s nearly impossible to leave the place where they grew up. Even if five or six out of ten people have short lives, they might be the remaining three or four. It doesn’t seem so hard.

The two of them stopped in front of the city gate and exchanged glances.

Creak  . Supported by hinges that were almost broken, the two city doors, though unable to align properly, slowly opened.

Before their eyes, there were no busy streets or scattered corpses. Only a white haze enveloped everything.

The fog was several times thicker than the fog outside the city, so they could only see a long, straight road ahead. There were no pedestrians on either side of the road, only gloomy houses.

The two of them naturally walked a few steps closer to each other, and entered the city together.

It was still daytime, but there was no sound in the city. Not only were there no human voices, but there were also no crows or barks. It felt truly strange.

However, since this is the place the left arm is pointing to, it would be odd if not weirder.

They walked along the path for a while. The further they went, the thicker the fog became, as if an evil energy permeated the air. At first, they could still see everything within ten paces. And then it became impossible to see anything more than five paces away. Eventually, they couldn’t even see their hands in front of them. The more Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi walked, the closer they moved to each other. They could only see each other’s faces if they walked shoulder to shoulder. A thought suddenly occurred to Wei WuXian,  If someone took advantage of this fog and sneaked in between us, the third person in our group, it would be hard to say whether we would notice or not  .

Suddenly, his foot stepped on something. He looked down, but couldn’t tell what it was. Wei WuXian held Lan WangJi’s hand tightly to prevent him from leaving on his own, bent down, and squinted. A head with glaring eyes pierced through the fog, leaping into his sight.

The head had the face of a man with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and two prominent red spots.

When Wei WuXian stepped on the head, he nearly knocked it off its feet, so he knew how heavy it was. Since it was so light, it definitely wasn’t a human head. He picked it up and squeezed it. Most of the man’s face sank. Some of the blush also faded.

It is a head made of paper.

The paper head was very skillfully crafted. Although the makeup was overly dramatic, the features were quite delicate. Yi City specialized in funerary goods, so naturally, the technique of making paper mannequins was quite refined. Among the paper mannequins were substitutes, which people believed, if burned for the deceased, would suffer in hell in their place; there were also maids and beautiful maidens, who would attentively care for the deceased in the afterlife. Of course, these were actually just made to give the living some relief. This paper head was most likely the “Nether Brawler.”

As the name suggests, the “Nether Brawler” is a fighter said to be able to protect spirits from the intimidation of other ghosts or  cunning judges  ; the paper money burned by the juniors will also not be stolen by other spirits. The paper head clearly has a large and sturdy body, also made of paper. Someone may have pulled the head off and thrown it onto the street.

The strands of hair on the paper head were jet black and quite shiny. Wei WuXian touched it. The hair was firmly attached to his scalp, as if it were actually growing hair. He thought, “  This is truly skillfully made. Did they take real human hair and glue it on?”

Suddenly, a thin shadow flashed before him.

The shadow was truly strange. It ran past him, brushed against his shoulder, and then vanished into the thick fog. Bichen drew his own sword, chasing after the figure, but it quickly returned to its sheath.

The object that passed him was running too fast—a human would definitely not be able to reach that speed!

Lan WangJi, “Pay attention. Be careful.”

Even though he only passed by briefly, it was hard to say that when he came back, he wouldn’t do something else.

Wei WuXian straightened up, “Did you hear that?”

Lan WangJi, “Footprints and bamboo poles.”

He was right. Just then, besides the hurried footsteps, they heard another strange sound. The  ta-ta sound  was quite distinct, as if someone was rapidly tapping bamboo against the ground. Wei WuXian had no idea why it was there.

Ahead of them, from within the fog, came another set of footsteps.

This time, the footsteps were lighter, slower, and more numerous. It seemed like a group of people were approaching cautiously, but they didn’t say anything. Wei WuXian took out a Darkness Burning Talisman and threw it forward. If there was anything filled with resentment energy in front of them, it would ignite, and the flames would likely illuminate the area. 

The people in front also noticed something being thrown at them. They immediately attacked.

A series of sword glares of different colors assaulted. Bichen drew his sword calmly and hovered in front of Wei WuXian, deflecting all the glares. On the other side, the crowd was confused. Hearing the shout, Lan WangJi immediately sheathed Bichen. Wei WuXian exclaimed, “Jin Ling? SiZhui!”

As he suspected, he hadn’t misheard. Jin Ling’s voice rang through the white mist, “What’s wrong with you again?!”

Wei WuXian, “Actually, I was wondering why it was you again!”

Lan SiZhui tried to restrain himself, but his voice sounded happy, “Young Master Mo, you are here too? Then is HanGuang-Jun here too?”

Hearing that Lan WangJi might be there, Jin Ling immediately shut his mouth, as if he were speechless again. He was probably afraid of being punished again. Lan JingYi shouted, “There must be! That sharp gaze just now was from Bichen, wasn’t it? It was Bichen, wasn’t it?!”

Wei WuXian, “Yep. He’s here, right next to me. You should come over here.”

Once the boys realized that the person in front of them was a friend, not an enemy, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over. Besides Jin Ling and a few Lan Sect juniors, there were also seven or eight boys wearing the attire of different sects, who still looked hesitant. They were probably also disciples from distinguished backgrounds. Wei WuXian asked, “Why are you all here? With such an attack, it’s a good thing I have HanGuang-Jun by my side. What if you hurt a commoner?”

Jin Ling replied, “There are no ordinary people here—no one here at all!”

Lan SiZhui nodded, “It’s still daytime, but the fog is everywhere. And not a single shop is open.”

Wei WuXian, “That’s not important right now. How did you two meet? Don’t tell me you’ve already planned to go night hunting together.” Jin Ling considered everyone an eyesore and wanted to pick a fight with everyone. And, since he had already interacted with the Lan Sect disciples, how could they possibly want to go night hunting together? Lan SiZhui obediently explained, “It’s a long story. Originally, we…”

Suddenly, a series of knocking and tapping sounds, a very deafening sound like the sound of bamboo poles being slammed into the ground, sounded from within the thick fog.

The juniors’ faces immediately changed, “Here he goes again!”

Translator’s Notes

Coffin house  : A coffin house refers to a building that functions as a “temporary coffin storage place where coffins containing the remains of recently deceased people are temporarily stored while awaiting transportation to the funeral home.” (Wikipedia)

Judge  : In Chinese folklore, when a person dies, they go to the afterlife to be recorded by a judge. There are many different versions, and this doesn’t really matter.