Chapter 38 Grass—Part Six

Surrounded by an atmosphere of ice and frost, Lan WangJi stood before Wei WuXian. Xue Yang deflected the attack by casting Shuanghua. The two swords collided, then flew back to their respective owners. Wei WuXian commented, “Isn’t this what they call ‘being on time is better than being early’?”

Lan WangJi, “Ya.”

After their exchange, they returned to their fight with Xue Yang. Just moments ago, Wei WuXian had been chased by Xue Yang, but now, Xue Yang was being held back by Lan WangJi. In response to this unfavorable situation, with a roll of his eyes and a grin, he threw Shuanghua into his left hand. His right hand moved into his sleeve. Wei WuXian was worried that he might throw out some poisonous powder or a hidden blade from  his Qiankun sleeve  . However, he simply drew another sword, and seamlessly adapted to the dual-sword attack style.

The glint of the sword he drew from his sleeve was gloomy and dark. As it swung, it seemed to radiate a black aura, creating a sharp contrast with the silver light of Shuanghua. With both swords equally powerful, Xue Yang’s hands were always perfectly timed. He immediately gained the upper hand. Lan WangJi asked, “Jiangzai?”

Xue Yang, “Hmm? HanGuang-Jun, you know this sword? What an honor.”

“Jiangzai” was Xue Yang’s own sword. As its name and owner, it was a sword of ominous foreboding that brought bloodshed. Wei WuXian interjected, “The name suits you very well.”

Lan WangJi, “Step back. You are not needed here.”

So, Wei WuXian humbly complied and took a step back. When he reached the door, he looked outside. Wen Ning expressionlessly grabbed Song Lan by the neck. He lifted Song Lan into the air and slammed him into the wall, creating a large, human-shaped indentation. Song Lan was equally expressionless, grabbing Wen Ning by the wrist. With a backflip, he threw him to the ground. The two corpses fought expressionlessly, smashing and smashing against each other. Since neither of them felt pain or feared injury, unless they were dismembered, they would continue fighting even if they lost a limb or two. Wei WuXian muttered softly, “I guess I’m not needed here either.”

Suddenly, he saw Lan JingYi, inside the dimly lit shop, waving frantically at him. He smiled broadly, “  Aha. I’m definitely needed there.”

Just as he left, the Bichen sword’s glare grew tenfold brighter. With a quick flick of his hand, Shuanghua slipped from Xue Yang’s grasp. Lan WangJi easily caught the sword. Seeing Shuanghua in someone else’s hands, Xue Yang ordered Jiangzai to slash straight at the left arm Lan WangJi had used to snatch the sword. As the attack was dodged, a terrifying rage flashed in Xue Yang’s eyes. He demanded coldly, “Give me the sword.”

Lan WangJi, “You don’t deserve this sword.”

Xue Yang laughed bitterly.

On the other side, Wei WuXian approached the students. Surrounded by boys, he asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yes!” “We all listened to you and held our breath.”

Wei WuXian, “Good. If anyone doesn’t listen to me, I’ll give them more porridge.”

Several boys who had tasted the taste pretended to vomit. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard all around them. Shadows began to appear from the end of the street. Lan WangJi also heard the sounds. With a wave of his sleeve, he took out his guqin, Wangji.

The guqin slammed horizontally onto the table. Lan WangJi threw Bichen into his left hand and continued to fight Xue Yang, his attacks still intense. At the same time, without turning around, he raised his right hand and plucked the strings.

The tone was loud and clear, echoing all the way to the end of the street. The strange yet familiar sounds of the corpse’s head being smashed open were heard again. Lan WangJi continued to fight Xue Yang with one hand and play the guqin with the other. He glanced around as if it were a trivial matter, then casually curled his fingers to strum again. Despite using both hands, he remained calm and unhurried.

Jin Ling said unconsciously, “He’s so great!”

He had seen Jiang Cheng and Jin GuangYao hunting at night and killing wild beasts, which made him think that his two uncles were the two strongest cultivators in the entire world. However, towards Lan WangJi, he had always felt more fear than respect, especially towards his technique of silencing others and his cold temperament. However, at this moment, he couldn’t help but admire Lan WangJi’s abilities. Lan JingYi agreed, “Well, of course. Of course HanGuang-Jun is great. He just doesn’t like to show it off. He’s very humble, isn’t he?”

“Really?” he addressed Wei WuXian, who replied in confusion, “You’re asking me? Why are you asking me?”

Lan JingYi was almost angry, “So you think HanGuang-Jun is no good?!”

Wei WuXian touched his chin, “Hmm. He’s great. Of course. He’s really great. He’s the best.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but smile.

The terrifying and dangerous night was finally over—dawn was almost here. However, this wasn’t good news. When day came, the fog would also thicken. Then, they would be helpless!

If it were just Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi, the situation wouldn’t be this difficult. However, with so many living humans around, if they ended up surrounded by a large group of walking corpses, escape would be nearly impossible. As Wei WuXian was quickly trying to think of a solution, the sharp tap of a bamboo pole rang out again.

The ghost of the blind and tongueless girl is coming again!

Without hesitation, Wei WuXian ordered, “Forward!”

Lan JingYi, “Ke mana?”

Wei WuXian, “Follow the sound of the bamboo pole.”

Jin Ling was a little surprised, “You want us to follow a ghost? Who knows where he will take us!”

Wei WuXian, “That’s what you’re going to do. That voice has been following you since you arrived, right? You tried to enter the city, but it led you to the city gates, where you met us. It’s chasing you—it’s trying to save you!”

The strange, sporadic sounds from the bamboo stick were a technique he used to scare people entering the city. The Nether Brawler’s head that Wei WuXian stepped on was probably also placed there by him to startle and warn them. Wei WuXian continued, “And, last night, he clearly wanted to tell us something very important, but he couldn’t explain it. However, he disappeared as soon as Xue Yang arrived. He was most likely trying to avoid Xue Yang. After all, he’s clearly not on the same side as him.”

“Xue Yang?! Why is Xue Yang here too? Aren’t those Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan?”

“Uhh, I’ll explain later. By the way, the one fighting with HanGuang-Jun inside wasn’t Xiao XingChen, but Xue Yang, who was pretending to be him.”

The sound of the bamboo tapping continued, as if the girl were waiting or urging them. If they followed her, they would be trapped; if they didn’t, they would be surrounded by corpses emitting corpse poison powder. The situation wouldn’t be much safer either. The young men resolutely chose to follow the tapping sound with Wei WuXian. Sure enough, as they moved, so did the sounds. Sometimes, they could see a small, faint shadow amidst the thin mist in the distance, but sometimes there was nothing at all.

After running for a while, Lan JingYi spoke, “So we’re just going to run like this?”

Wei WuXian turned around and shouted, “HanGuang-Jun, it’s your turn now. Let’s go!”

The guqin strings vibrated, as if someone was saying “mnn.” Wei WuXian burst out laughing  .  Lan JingYi hesitated, “Is that all? You’re not going to say anything else?”

Wei WuXian, “What else do you want? What else should I say?”

Lan JingYi, “Why don’t you two say, ‘I’m worried. I’m staying!’, ‘Go!’, ‘No! I don’t want to go! If I want to go, you guys come with me!’? Isn’t that mandatory?”

Wei WuXian gaped, “Who taught you this? Who said this kind of conversation had to happen? It sounds normal, but can you imagine your HanGuang-Jun being able to talk like that?”

The Lan Sect juniors exclaimed, “No…”

Wei WuXian, “Right, right? It’s a waste of time. I’m sure someone as capable as HanGuang-Jun can handle it. I can just focus on my own business and wait for him to find me or find him myself.”

They followed the sounds of the bamboo poles for less than fifteen minutes. After a few twists and turns, the sounds suddenly stopped in front of them. Wei WuXian reached out, stopping the boys behind him, and walked a few steps forward. A lone house stood amidst the thickening fog. 

“Squeak…”

Someone pushed open the door of the house, which had been silently awaiting the strangers’ arrival. Wei WuXian sensed that there must be something inside. Not something dangerous or capable of killing them, but something that would tell him things and provide him with answers.

He turned to his students, “We’ve come this far. Come on in.”

He lifted his feet and stepped into the house. Adjusting to the darkness, he warned without looking back, “Be careful at the doorway. Don’t trip.”

As expected, one of the boys nearly tripped over the high threshold. He complained, “Why is the threshold so high? This isn’t a temple or anything.”

Wei WuXian, “This isn’t a temple, but it’s a place that also requires a high threshold.”

They hurriedly lit about a dozen fire amulets. The orange light from the blazing fire illuminated the entire house.

Straws were scattered on the ground, acting as a carpet. In the front area, there was an altar and several benches of varying heights. A small, unlit room was located to the right. There were also seven or eight black wooden coffins.

Jin Ling, “Is this what you call a coffin house? Where the dead are temporarily laid to rest?”

Wei WuXian, “That’s right. Corpses that no one claims, that would make the house feel creepy, or that are waiting to be buried are often put in coffin houses. A coffin house can be described as  a place for  the funeral rites.” The smaller room beside it was probably where the person who guarded the coffin house rested.

Lan SiZhui asked, “Senior Mo, why is the threshold of the coffin house so high?”

Wei WuXian, “In case any of the corpses change.”

Lan JingYi was confused, “Can setting a high threshold prevent corpse transformation?”

Wei WuXian, “It can’t prevent corpse transformation, but it can sometimes prevent low-level corpses that have already transformed from coming out.” He stood in front of the doorway, “For example, I’m already dead and have just transformed.”

The children nodded. He continued, “Since I just transformed, my limbs are really stiff, aren’t they? And I can’t do certain movements?”

Jin Ling, “It’s obvious. You can’t even walk. You can’t take a step forward, so you can only jump…” At this point, he immediately understood. Wei WuXian agreed, “That’s right. I can only jump.” With his legs together, he tried to jump out. However, because the threshold was too high, he failed every time. Seeing his toes hit the threshold, all the disciples found it hilarious. They laughed at the thought of a newly transformed corpse desperately trying to jump out like this, but always being blocked by the high threshold. Wei WuXian spoke again, “See now? Don’t laugh. This is the intelligence of ordinary people. Although it’s lame and seems too simple, it’s indeed effective against low-level corpses. If a transformed corpse trips over the threshold, after falling to the ground, with their stiff bodies, they won’t be able to get up for a short time. When they finally do get up, either the sun will soon rise and the rooster will crow, or the person guarding the coffin will find them. It’s truly impressive how ordinary people who don’t cultivate can think of such a solution.”

Although Jin Ling had also laughed at the incident, after hearing her explanation, he immediately held back his laughter, “Why did he bring us to the coffin house? Don’t tell me it’s because we won’t be surrounded by walking corpses if we stay here. Where did he go?”

Wei WuXian, “We probably won’t be able to. We haven’t moved for a long time. Has anyone heard a walking corpse?”

Just as he finished speaking, the ghost of a young girl appeared above the coffin.

Thanks to Wei WuXian’s persuasion, they had all seen what the girl looked like. They even saw what she looked like with bloodshot eyes and a tongueless mouth. So, after seeing her again, no one felt afraid or uneasy. It seemed that, just as Wei WuXian had said, a person would become braver and face situations more calmly after being scared a few times.

The girl had no physical form, only a spiritual body enveloped in a soft, faint aura. Both her figure and face were petite. After a little grooming, she had become a charming girl-next-door. However, the way she sat with her legs spread apart suggested she didn’t look fragile at all. The bamboo pole she used as a white cane leaned against the coffin. Her legs were drooping, swaying restlessly back and forth.

Sitting on the coffin, he tapped the lid with his hand. Then, he jumped down and circled the coffin several times, giving them hand signals. This time, the signal was quite easy to understand. It was the act of “opening” something. Jin Ling guessed, “He wants us to open this coffin for him?”

Lan SiZhui suggested, “Could the body be in here? He probably wanted us to bury it and give it peace.” This was the most logical conclusion, as one of the most common reasons why ghosts haunt the Earth is because their bodies are unburied. Wei WuXian stood on one side of the coffin, while several boys stood on the other side, intending to help him open it. He reassured them, “You don’t need to help me. Stand further away. What if it’s not a corpse and sprays more corpse poison powder at you?”

He opened the coffin alone and placed the lid on the ground. Looking down, he saw a corpse.

However, it turned out that it was not the girl’s body, but someone else’s body.

A young man lay in a peaceful position with his arms crossed, beneath him a horsetail broom. He wore a snow-white cultivation robe. The silhouette of his lower face, with its pale features and soft lips, was handsome and graceful. However, the upper half of his face was wrapped in layers of bandages four fingers wide. Beneath the bandages, nothing protruded from where his eyes should have been. They were buried. There were no eyes, just two empty sockets.

Hearing them open the coffin, the girl staggered. She put her hand inside the coffin and, after searching, finally felt the face of the corpse. Stamping her foot, tears of blood again dripped from her blind eyes.

Everyone understood, without the need for any words or gestures. Placed alone in a stand-alone coffin, this corpse was the real Xiao XingChen.

The ghost’s tears couldn’t fall. After crying for a while, the girl suddenly stood up and shouted ”  ahh—  ” at them through gritted teeth. She looked both angry and annoyed, as if she really wanted to express what was on her mind. Lan SiZhui asked, “Should I play  Inquiry  again?”

Wei WuXian, “No need. We might just ask the wrong question, instead of the one he wants. And, I think the answer will be very complicated, very difficult to interpret.”

Although he didn’t say “you probably can’t do it,” Lan SiZhui still felt a little embarrassed. He silently promised himself, ”  After I go back, I will study  Inquiry  more diligently. I must be as fluent, fast, and accurate as HanGuang-Jun.  ” Lan JingYi asked, “Then what should we do?”

Wei WuXian, “What about Empathy?”

All major sects specialized in various methods for obtaining information and researching ghosts. Wei WuXian excelled most in empathy. His method wasn’t as profound as that of other sects; anyone could use it. The method was simple: asking a ghost to possess his own body. Using his own body as a medium, he could access the spirit’s soul and memories, hearing what they heard, seeing what they saw, and feeling what they felt. If the spirit’s emotions were too strong, he would be affected by their sadness, anger, and joy. Hence, this method was called “Empathy.”

This is arguably the easiest, most practical, and most effective method. Of course, it’s even more dangerous. Everyone fears and avoids the possibility of a ghost possessing their body. On the other hand, Empathy is like playing with fire. The slightest mistake will backfire. If the ghost breaks its promise and takes advantage of the opportunity to retaliate, even the best outcome is that the Empathy’s body will be taken.

Jin Ling protested, “That’s too dangerous! Using such a dark technique without someone…” Wei WuXian interrupted him, “Okay, okay. We’re running out of time. Stand properly. Hurry. We still have to go back and look for HanGuang-Jun after we’re done. Jin Ling, you’ll be the watchdog.”

A supervisor is an integral part of the Empathizer ritual. If an Empathizer becomes entangled in a ghost’s emotions, they need to establish a code with the supervisor. This code should be a phrase or sound familiar to the Empathizer. The supervisor must always monitor the situation. If they notice a change in the situation, they must act immediately and pull the Empathizer out of the trance. Jin Ling pointed to himself, “Me? You want a mast-… You want me to supervise you while you do something like this?”

Lan SiZhui, “If Young Master Jin doesn’t want to, I can do it too.”

Wei WuXian, “Jin Ling, did you bring the Jiang Sect’s silver bell?”

The silver bell was a signature accessory of the YunmengJiang Sect. As a young man, Jin Ling was raised by both sects. He lived in  the LanlingJin Sect’s Jinlin Tower  half the time, and the YunmengJiang Sect’s Lotus Pier the other half, so he must have carried items from both sects. As Wei WuXian had expected, with a complicated expression on his face, he took out a small, simple bell. The Jiang Sect’s clan motif, a nine-petaled lotus, was engraved on the silver bell’s body. Wei WuXian stared at the bell for a moment. Finding its appearance a little strange, Jin Ling asked, “What?”

Wei WuXian replied, “Nothing.” He handed the bell to Lan SiZhui, “The Jiang Sect’s silver bell can calm the mind and soothe concentration. Use this as a code.”

Jin Ling grabbed the bell back, “Actually, I will!”

Lan JingYi grumbled, “You didn’t want to before, but now you do. With such a hot and cold temper, are you still a young lady?”

Wei WuXian turned to the girl, “Come in.”

The girl wiped her eyes and face, then slammed her body. Her entire soul was slammed into the ground. Leaning against the coffin, Wei WuXian slowly slid to the ground. The boys hurriedly dragged a pile of straw over so he could sit down. Jin Ling gripped the bell tightly, his thoughts a blur.

When the girl had just bumped into him, Wei WuXian suddenly remembered a problem:  The girl was blind. If I empathized with her, wouldn’t I also be blind and unable to see anything? The effect would be drastically reduced. Well, only her ears should be working.

After a dizzying moment, his once-light soul felt like it had landed on solid ground. As the girl opened her eyes, Wei WuXian did too. However, the scene before his eyes wasn’t a pitch-black expanse, but a clear landscape of vibrant colors.

He can see!

It seems that when this memory was told, he was not yet blind.

During Empathy, the scenes shown to Wei WuXian would be the segments of his memories with the strongest emotions and the ones he most wanted to express to others. Wei WuXian could only watch quietly and feel what she felt. At that moment, they both shared the same senses. Her eyes were his eyes; her mouth was his mouth.

Sitting on the riverbank, the girl tidied herself up in front of the water. Despite her tattered clothes, she still needed the most basic hygiene. Tapping her toes to the beat, she hummed a tune as she tidied her hair, seemingly unsatisfied with the way it had turned out. Wei WuXian felt a thin wooden hairpin poke through her hair. Suddenly, he glanced at his reflection in the water. Wei WuXian’s perspective shifted. A young girl with an oval face and a pointed chin was reflected in the water’s surface.

There were no pupils in the girl’s eyes, only white areas.

Wei WuXian wondered,  This is clearly the appearance of someone who is blind, but right now I can see, right?

After the girl tied up her hair, she brushed the dust off her clothes and jumped up. Grabbing the bamboo pole at her feet, she skipped along the path. She swung the pole as she walked, constantly banging the branches above her head, knocking on the rocks she passed, scaring away the grasshoppers in the bushes. As soon as someone approached from a distance, she immediately stopped skipping. Holding tightly to the pole, she tapped the ground as she slowly stepped forward, appearing wary. The group that had arrived included several village women. Seeing the situation, they all stepped aside and whispered to each other. The girl nodded quickly, “Thank you, thank you.”

One of the women seemed to take pity on her. She lifted the white cloth covering her basket, then took out a steamed bun and handed it to her. “Sister, be careful. Are you hungry? Take this and eat it.”

The girl  nodded  and replied gratefully, “How can I accept that? I-I…”

The woman thrust the bread into his hand, “Take it!”

He finally took it, “Big Brother, A-Qing is very grateful to you!”

So the girl’s name is A-Qing.

Saying goodbye to the village women, A-Qing finished the bun in just a few bites, and continued to jump up and down, jumping three inches each time. Jumping up and down with the girl inside him, Wei WuXian’s head spun with dizziness. He thought to himself,  That girl is so full of energy. Now I understand. She’s pretending to be blind. She was probably born with those white eyes. Although she looks blind, she can actually see, so she pretends to be blind with her eyes, tricking people into feeling sorry for her.  Being a girl wandering the streets alone, if she pretends to be blind, people will naturally think that she really can’t see and lower their guard. However, in reality, she can see everything. This allows her to adapt to the situation and is indeed a clever method of self-protection.

However, A-Qing’s soul is truly blind, meaning she lost her sight before she died. So, how did she go from pretending to actually being blind?

Is he seeing things he shouldn’t be seeing?

When no one was around, A-Qing hopped around; when there were people around, A-Qing shrank back and pretended to be blind. Stopping occasionally, she arrived at a market.

Since it was crowded, of course he wanted to show off his skills. After his performance, he tapped the ground with his bamboo stick, his acting as convincing as ever. Slowly making his way through the crowd, he suddenly encountered a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious, glittering clothes. He feigned fear, “Sorry, sorry! I can’t see. Sorry!”

Can’t he see? He’s clearly charging at the man!

After hitting someone, the man turned around angrily, as if he wanted to curse whoever was in front of him. However, seeing that the person in front of him was not only a blind person, but also a beautiful young girl, if he slapped her face on the street, he would definitely be criticized by passersby. He could only scold, “Be careful on the road!”

A-Qing continued to apologize. As he was about to leave, he still wasn’t satisfied, and squeezed A-Qing’s buttocks with his right hand. Because they felt the same way, it felt like the squeeze was landing on Wei WuXian. Instantly, Wei WuXian felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He wanted so badly to throw the man to the ground. 

A-Qing curled up into a ball, as if she were extremely frightened. However, after the man had gotten some distance away, he knocked on the entrance to a dark alley, then immediately spat on the ground. He took out a money bag, poured out the contents, counted them, and then spat again, “Those damn people, they’re all like this. They dress like they’re really big, but they don’t have any coins. You can’t even get a penny out of them.”

Wei WuXian frowned and burst out laughing. A-Qing was still young, probably no younger than fifteen, but she was already quite adept at swearing, and even more so at stealing money. He recalled, “  If you stole my money, you wouldn’t have sworn like that. Back then, I was rich too…”

Just as he was sighing about how poor he was, A-Qing had found her next target. Pretending to be blind, she exited the alley, wandered around the streets for a while, and did the same. With an “ah,” she bumped into a white-robed cultivator, then apologized, “Sorry, sorry! I can’t see. Sorry!”

Wei WuXian shook his head silently. This young beauty didn’t even change her lines!

Startled by her, the man turned around. He helped her up first, “I’m fine. Miss, can’t you see either?”

The man was quite young. His cultivation robes were simple but clean, and he carried a sword wrapped in white cloth on his back. The lower half of his face was quite handsome, though somewhat thin. On the other hand, the upper half of his face was covered with a bandage about four fingers wide. A small amount of blood seeped through the bandage.

Translator’s Notes

Qiankun Sleeve  : Similar to the Qiankun bag, the Qiankun sleeve robe is often worn by cultivators to carry items. This is the meaning in xianxia stories when someone takes something “from their arm” or “from their sleeve.”

Courier station  : Courier stations were implemented in the past for couriers (or messengers) to pass on letters to the next person when the distance was too far for one courier to cover.

Jinlin Tower  : Jinlin Tower has been mentioned a few times, hasn’t it? Just like Cloud Recesses and Lotus Pier, Jinlin Tower is where the LanlingJin Sect is located. However, since the previous two towers were translated without pinyin, I thought I’d change the name of this tower to English as well. After all, Jinlin means “golden carp,” so it wouldn’t sound very good to call it “Goldfish Tower.” Any suggestions?