Chapter 82: Loyalty—Part Four

Wei WuXian turned and dashed straight into the pool of blood. Lan WangJi followed closely behind. The red spirit-summoning flag on his white robes was indeed the best target. Not a single corpse paid any attention to anyone else, completely ignoring all the living humans that passed by, rushing toward Wei WuXian alone with bloodshot eyes.

The corpses advanced one after another. The path Wen Ning had opened was always quickly filled with more corpses, so he hurried back and cleared it again. More than half of the people inside the Demon-Slaying Cave hadn’t had a chance to leave. Some of them were still unable to walk. They watched as Bichen’s sword gaze swept across the cave repeatedly, rows of corpses being cut to pieces as the next row continued to advance. Cries and wails echoed, almost floating above the cave ceiling. 

Soon, the corpses surrounded Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi, making it difficult for them to approach the pool of blood. The piles of corpses on the sides grew taller, and the circle around them shrank. The juniors were all filled with worry. They all turned back, swords drawn. 

Lan Jingyi saw someone swinging their sword as he rushed out, “Can you help? If you can still pick up your sword, can you come help?! Just a little bit is enough!”

The man said, “Get lost!!!”

Lan SiZhui, “Just leave it, JingYi, we’re fine on our own!”

Hearing their voices, Wei WuXian shouted, “Wen Ning!!! Drive them away!!!”

Wen Ning, “Ya!” 

He grabbed Lan JingYi with one hand, and just as he was about to grab Lan SiZhui with the other, Lan SiZhui said to him, “Ghost General, I can’t leave, leave me here!!! Or I’ll regret it for the rest of my life!!!”

The moment they met, Wen Ning’s body froze. Seeing that Wen Ning was no longer able to catch him, Lan SiZhui immediately drew his sword and turned around. Lan JingYi and the others took the opportunity to pass him as well. Almost being dragged along, Jin Ling was dragged out, jostling with the many corpses. All of these corpses were attracted to the flag on Wei WuXian’s body, staring in one direction with bloodshot eyes and ignoring them. 

Jin Ling shouted, “Uncle! I…”

Jiang Cheng’s voice was filled with ice, “If you dare to go back there, don’t call me your uncle again.”

Jin Ling glared at him. Jiang Cheng slammed him to the ground and shouted, “Stay here!” He, on the other hand, picked up Sandu and rushed back into the Demon-Slaying Cave. 

Jin Ling hesitated for a moment before calling out to him, “Uncle, wait for me!” Despite his warning, she still followed him.

On the other hand, inside the Demon-Slaying Cave, the area surrounding Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi had shrunk to no more than ten feet wide.

The Bichen sword’s gaze was still bright and clear, and the talisman’s fire burned unceasingly. However, there were too many corpses!

Just as Wei WuXian threw out a handful of talismans, he sensed danger. Looking to the side, as he had expected, a ferocious corpse was crawling among the pile of corpses near them. With its mouth gaping, it lunged at him. Wei WuXian’s hands were empty. He cursed and searched his sleeves, but there was nothing. His heart pounded.

He has spent all his savings!

Lan WangJi also realized the danger. Just as he was about to strike with his sword, he suddenly heard a scream. The ferocious corpse was torn in half in midair.

No. It was torn in half. And the creature that tore it apart was right in front of everyone’s eyes!

A blood-soaked corpse stood atop a pile of corpses as tall as a man. He still held two twitching corpses in his hands as he stared at Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi.

Lan JingYi’s mouth gaped open, unable to close. OuYang ZiZhen muttered, “… My ancestor… What the hell is this?”

Everyone who saw it had the same thought in their mind—what the heck is this?!

The unidentified corpse that had appeared out of nowhere was unlike any other they had ever seen. Its entire body was blood-red, as if it had just crawled out of a pool of blood. With its emaciated frame, it looked beyond terrifying.

The corpses controlled by the Stygian Tiger Seal were also attracted to their strange companion. They all gave up on attacking Wei WuXian and instead looked at him hesitantly.

The bloody corpse walked a few steps forward.

He stumbled forward with a cracking sound from his knuckles, as if he were flexing his bones. Dark red blood dripped from his limbs and body, dripping onto the ground.

A bitter blend of Yin energy and deep hatred radiated from his body. As he approached, the other corpses began to writhe backward. Many people turned pale, afraid to make even the slightest sound.

Lan WangJi stood in front of Wei WuXian, but Wei WuXian pressed down on his hand that was gripping Bichen, whispering, “…Wait.” He stared blankly at the bloodied corpse. A thought occurred to him. His heart pounding, he repeated, “Wait.”

The bloody corpse stopped about three meters from them. Suddenly, it raised its head and howled twice. The howls grew louder and sharper. The people covered their ears.

Ripples of light formed on the surface of the pool of blood.

At first, it felt like a small stone being thrown. But then the ripples grew larger, as if something was moving uncontrollably beneath the thick syrup.

Suddenly a hand came out of the blood!

With tremendous force, the hand gripped the edge, its fingers sinking deep into the ground. What emerged was a crimson, half-decomposed face, its features indistinct.

A second bloody corpse had crawled out of the pool.

Immediately afterward, the entire surface of the pool of blood began to shake, almost as if boiling. As it churned, more heads appeared on the surface. A third, a fourth, a fifth…

They were all covered in blood. Shrill roars accompanied their horrific faces. As soon as they crawled out of the pool of blood, they immediately began fighting the other corpses!

The corpses under the control of the Tiger Seal looked as if they had been churned by a red blade, turning into flesh, limbs, and black blood that flew in the air!

Jin Ling watched in shock, “… What the hell are these things?! Why are there even more ferocious corpses in the pool of blood? Didn’t they say all the corpses in the Burial Mound were burned?!”

Sect Leader OuYang replied while protecting his son, “Some don’t!”

Lan JingYi, “Which one is not?!”

OuYang Sect Leader, “That… That…”

He couldn’t say it out loud. After the remnants of the Wen Sect in the Burial Mounds were killed by the people who participated in the siege, all fifty corpses were thrown into a pool of blood!

Suddenly, Jin Ling shouted, “Watch out!”

A blood-stained body landed before him. Holding his sword, Lan SiZhui took a few steps back. The blood-stained corpse slowly rose to its feet.

The corpse was extremely small and hunched. It looked as if its skull had been hollowed out. Its white hair was thin, sticking out in tatters from its forehead after being drenched in bloody water. Combined with its rotting flesh, the corpse looked extremely disgusting. Anyone who saw it felt uneasy. After crawling, limping, it slowly walked towards Lan SiZhui. All the juniors trembled with fear and immediately gathered around.

As the crowd grew, the blood corpse became alert, growling loudly. The boys looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, but Lan SiZhui quickly stopped them, “Don’t move!”

Although he himself was also a little nervous, for some unknown reason, he didn’t feel afraid.

If the emaciated corpse had eyes, it would be staring at him. Tilting its head, it even extended an arm, its hand slowly moving towards Lan SiZhui as if it wanted to touch him.

The hand was covered in blood, almost like a half-bitten chicken foot. All the boys could feel the hairs on their bodies standing on end. Jin Ling raised his sword, ready to block it, just as Lan SiZhui called out, “Young Master Jin, stop!”

Jin Ling, “Then what should we do?!”

Lan SiZhui, “Everyone… Everyone, don’t move for now.”

The blood-soaked corpse called out in a weak voice. He calmed himself, then reached out to the corpse as well.

Just as he was about to touch the corpse, a new wave of corpses arrived. The blood corpse twisted and, with a long howl, leaped into the air, throwing itself onto the pile of corpses before biting and tearing them apart as if in a frenzy. Blood and flesh flew everywhere. The horror of its howl and the brutality of its movements were completely different from the ones it had displayed before Lan SiZhui. 

Wen Ning threw down several corpses. His body trembling, he shouted at the corpses, “Is that you?!”

He didn’t care about it.

All the blood corpses were killed in a frenzy. Wen Ning shouted, “Is that you?!”

A loud roar of varying tones filled the entire Demon Slaying Cave. None of them answered, and none of them could.

Not even an hour later, all the noise slowly died down.

After everything was over, the Demon Slaying Cave looked like a hellish scene painted in a scroll.

One by one, bloody corpses began to gather where Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi were.

Tall and short, men and women, old and young—all of them were blood-soaked demons. However, in these figures, Wei WuXian saw some familiar shadows.

Wen Ning muttered, “Uncle Four… Grandma…”

He called out their names one by one, his voice trembling as he walked. Wen Ning, “Have you been waiting here all this time?”

If he were still alive, his eyes would be red and starting to water.

Wei WuXian’s lips trembled. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. He lowered his head and bowed deeply to them. His voice was hoarse, “…Thank you.”

Lan WangJi also saluted.

When they were fighting, the blood corpses had looked as ferocious as possible, but now, facing them, they still looked terrifying, but their movements seemed somewhat clumsy. Occasionally, they bowed and raised their hands, returning the salute.

And then, as if something had sucked the energy and life out of them, they all collapsed at once.

Their blood-colored bodies looked like fragile porcelain, cracking bit by bit, the pieces growing smaller and smaller. If the wind blew again, perhaps nothing would remain.

Wen Ning dropped to the ground, using his hands to gather the crimson ashes. After picking them up, he stuffed them into his clothes, handful by handful. Soon, they were all full. Seeing this, Lan JingYi scratched his hair and took off one of his perfume pouches. He took out the herbal potion inside, crouched down, and handed it to him, “Here!”

As they watched, the other children imitated them. Only Jin Ling continued to watch them, his expression complicated. He didn’t do anything. Frowning, he simply walked away. Meanwhile, as seven or eight hands appeared in front of Wen Ning, holding up perfume sachets and woven bags, Wen Ning didn’t know what to do.

Lan SiZhui, “Ghost General, do you need help?”

Wen Ning hurriedly said, “No, you…”

Lan JingYi, “There are so many bones and ashes. Can you collect them all yourself?”

Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi approached, “Don’t touch them casually. You’ll get corpse poison if you don’t wear gloves.”

Hearing this, the children finally gave in. Lan SiZhui, “Senior Wei, HanGuang-Jun, and General Ghost, this time, thank you very much for…”

Suddenly a cold voice came from the crowd, “What for?”

Lan SiZhui and the boys turned around and found Fang MengChen speaking again. He stood up, anger etched across his face, “What’s going on?”

Lan SiZhui was confused, “What is all this?”

Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi also looked at him. Fang MengChen’s voice was stern, “I’m asking you—what’s all this about? Atonement?! You haven’t even begun to feel grateful to him, have you?!”

The atmosphere inside the Demon-Slaying Cave was completely silent. Not a single whisper could be heard. What everyone was feeling right now was truly unpleasant.

With all their fanfare, they came to besiege, but they themselves found themselves besieged. They proclaimed that they were here to destroy evil, but in the end, they needed ‘evil’ to save their own lives.

They really didn’t know if it was funny, weird, awkward, or completely incomprehensible. They just felt that they, the ones jumping up and down with joy during this joke, were a bit embarrassing.

Thanking Wei WuXian? It didn’t feel right, but they were saved by him, after all. It also didn’t feel right to say they were ungrateful. In a situation like this, the best way out was to remain silent.

Seeing that no one would answer him, Fang MengChen became even more furious. He charged forward with his sword in hand, “Do you think that by doing a few fake good deeds and showing that you’ve repented, you’ll erase all the blood debts on your hands?!”

Wei WuXian darted to the side. Someone came to intervene, “Fang-xiong! Don’t be so agitated. Just let it be…”

As soon as the person said it, he realized his mistake. Fang MengChen’s eyes turned red, “Just forget it?! What do you mean, just forget it? My parents’ murder—I just forgot about it because you said so?!”

She asked loudly, “Wei WuXian killed my parents. That’s true. But why is he acting like a hero now?! Just do a few good deeds, and you can forget all about him? Then what about my parents?!”

In the crowd, Jin Ling clenched his fists. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. The fingers Jiang Cheng had placed on his shoulder slowly tightened.

Jin Ling couldn’t see his expression. He whispered, “Uncle…”

A short, ambiguous laugh came from Jiang Cheng.

Finally, Wei WuXian spoke up. He said, “Then what do you want from me?”

Fang MengChen was stunned. Wei WuXian, “Then what do you want? Just my miserable death to assuage your own hatred?” He pointed at Yi WeiChun, who lay unconscious among the crowd, “He lost a leg, while I was dismembered; you lost your parents, while my family is long gone. I’m a dog driven out of its home. I’ve never even seen my parents’ ashes.”

Wei WuXian, “Or do you hate the remnants of the Wen Sect? The remnants of the Wen Sect you speak of already died once, thirteen years ago. And now, right then, for my sake, for your sake, they died once more. This time, they have all been reduced to ashes.” He continued, “Let me ask you—what else do you want from me?”

Fang MengChen glared at him. A moment later, he replied through gritted teeth, “It’s no use. I’m telling you, Wei WuXian, no matter what you do, don’t ever expect me to forgive you or forget my parents’ deaths.” He raised his voice, “That will never happen!”

Wei WuXian, “No one asked you to forgive me. What I did, not only you remember it, but I do too. You won’t forget it, and it will stay in my memory for even longer!”

He stared at her for a long moment. Fang MengChen felt a whirlwind of emotions well up inside her, a feeling of surrender.

His life was indeed saved by Wei WuXian and the others, but he didn’t want to give up on his grudges so easily. However, even if he wanted to take revenge on Wei WuXian, it would be futile, considering how weak he was. In the end, he could only scream loudly before rushing out of the Demon-Slaying Cave.

After he left, a voice asked, “There won’t be any more corpses coming, right? We’re really safe this time, right?!”

Hearing this voice, everyone felt their heads swell several times larger.  There he was again!

Nie HuaiSang looked around. Seeing that no one answered him, he asked again, “Then, shouldn’t we… leave too?”

This was a valid question. Right now, all everyone wanted to do was deploy their wings and fly their swords back to their respective sects. One of the female cultivators asked, “Four hours should be up by now. How much of everyone’s spiritual power has recovered?”