Chapter Text
One auspicious morning, a certain Yiling Patriarch was lounging against the trunk of a tree, hands supporting the back of his head and eyes closed as he basked under the sun outside of Jingshi. A scurry of rabbits hopped unobtrusively around him, particularly avoiding his area as if waking him from his nap might mean another afternoon of aggressive cuddling.
However, one white rabbit sat comfortably in the spacious folds of Wei Wuxian’s lap, completely content with itself.
While the scene looked picturesque, it didn’t last long until someone broke the peace.
“Senior Wei! Senior Wei!”
Wei Wuxian groaned, lifting a lazy lid open as one of the Lan Sect’s disciples called out to him.
“Jingyi, isn’t it against the rules to shout and run in the Cloud Recesses?” He smirked, teasing the young teen.
Lan Jingyi flushed, “I wasn’t running, I was brisk walking. And it’s an urgent matter, Senior Wei! Hanguang-Jun told me to bring you to the Hanshi.”
Wei Wuxian sat up a little straighter and placed the bunny from his lap to the ground, “Did something happen?”
“During our lessons, a letter flew out of nowhere and landed in front of Hanguang-Jun. After reading it, he asked Sizhui to tell Clan Leader that he needed to see him. Then he left to get Master Lan Qiren too.”
“Alright. I’m coming.” Wei Wuxian patted down his black robes and made his way with Lan Jingyi.
They found Lan Sizhui pacing outside, looking troubled.
"A-Yuan! How's my favorite radish plant?"
Lan Sizhui shot him a wry smile and bowed, "Senior Wei, I’m doing fine. Hanguang-Jun is waiting for you inside."
Wei Wuxian nodded. The two young Lan disciples watched as the man walked into the room and slid the door behind him.
Lan Sizhui sighed, “I wonder what’s going on.”
Lan Jingyi nodded, “Yeah. Did you hear anything?”
“It seems to have something to do with the Burial Mounds.”
Lan Jingyi looked shocked, “The Burial Mounds? Something happened there again? Tsk. And I thought we’ve heard the last of that place.”
Lan Sizhui shook his head, “Hopefully, it’s not too problematic. The issue with Jin Guangyao just ended six months ago. None of the other clans should be stirring up trouble now.”
The other youth shrugged, turning his gaze back on the doors of Hanshi.
Inside, Wei Wuxian bowed before sitting beside Hanguang-Jun. Lan Xichen and Lin Qiren were already sitting on the other side of the table; on the surface of it laid an innocently folded letter.
“So I heard there’s something urgent about a letter?” Wei Wuxian queried even though his eyes were on said object already. He reached out to take it and no one stopped him from reading the contents inside.
Wei Wuxian scrunched his brows.
Seeing his expression, Lan Xichen began, “It seems like this anonymous sender knows something that we don't about the first Burial Mound siege thirteen years ago. They’re inviting us to meet in the Burial Mounds before sundown if we want to know the truth. Wangji, do you have any idea what this could be about?”
Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes, "No."
“Have you checked for any curses or spells on the thing?” Lan Qiren asked.
Lan Wangji nodded, “I checked before reading it. Nothing.”
“Hmm, I didn’t detect anything either and I have no clue what they want to reveal. Well, there’s only one way to find out, right Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian grinned, turning to Lan Wangji with bright eyes. Lan Wangji stared at him deeply, eyes soft even though no one else besides Lan Xichen could see it. He nodded to Wei Wuxian’s delight.
“You don’t mean you want to go back there?” Lan Qiren interrupted with a scowl.
“What else are we supposed to do? I mean, we could ignore the invitation but I want to know what this person has to say in front of us.” Wei Wuxian leaned against Lan Wangji’s shoulder, looking unconcerned. This anonymous sender mentioned he knew the truth of what happened thirteen years ago which meant it had something to do with him. Either this was an enemy who wanted to slander his name further or a friend who really had secrets to tell. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t know unless they agreed to meet at the appointed location. It would be remiss of the Yiling Patriarch to not give this anonymous sender the opportunity to show off when he or she made the effort to send them this mysterious letter.
“It could be a trap.” The older man argued, stroking his beard.
“No one could harm Hanguang-Jun if I’m around.” Wei Wuxian proudly declared, looping an arm around Lan Wangji’s.
Lan Wangji held his hand, speaking in kind, “No harm will come to Wei Ying too.”
Wei Wuxian melted, immediately feeling the urge to kiss this man. Sadly, that’d have to wait until they were alone. Instead, he sat closer to Lan Wangji and cuddled against him, almost toeing the line of disrespect in front of his elders. “Of course, Lan Zhan. I trust you.”
Lan Qiren sighed at this hopeless pair of lovers while Lan Xichen gazed at them in amusement.
After arranging one of the Clan elders to supervise the sect while they were gone, they, along with a few disciples, headed for Yiling on their swords (Wei Wuxian comfortably in Hanguang-Jun's arms) and made their way towards the Burial Mounds.
They were unsurprised to find other sects with their disciples standing by the rocky pathway, arguing amongst each other. The letter had been worded in a way to imply that they weren't the only ones who'd received an invitation. Though the amount of people who came did surprise Wei Wuxian a bit.
"I say it's a trap!"
"Then why are you even here?"
"To warn you all its a trap! That Yiling Patriarch may be up to something after all! We shouldn't have ever lowered our guards around him."
“But isn’t he innocent already? He’s staying in the Cloud Recesses with Hanguang-Jun.”
“Who said he’s innocent just because Jin Guangyao turned out to be worse than him? Don’t forget what he did all those years ago that got a lot of cultivators killed! Whoever this sender is wants to reveal this truth to us!”
“I agree!”
“You’re just spouting nonsense!”
"Look, it's the Gusu Lan sect!"
Cultivators dressed in varying colors turned to greet the Gusu Lan Sect who were all dressed in their white and pale blue robes. The most infamous among them was a man in black and red, hair tied in a high ponytail and a flute strapped to his belt. He grinned winningly at all the eyes on him.
"Come on now, I know I'm handsome but you don't have to stare so obviously at me." Wei Wuxian snickered, one hand shyly covering the lower half of his face. He crowed inwardly in joy when he caught sight of Jiang Cheng scowling at him, a face Jin Ling was similarly making, though less pronounced.
Nie Huaisang had also arrived with his sect, fanning himself while looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. Ever since Jin Guangyao’s death, Wei Wuxian didn’t allow himself to get fooled by Nie Huaisang's innocent act anymore. He had an inkling that the sender might be him or had something about him if his nervous expression was anything to go by.
Almost everyone from the previous Burial Mounds incident were here except for the obvious exclusion of the Moling Su Sect led by Su She.
Suddenly, one of the disciples of a smaller sect shouted, "Wei Wuxian, whatever you're up to, we won't have any part of it!"
“Yeah, just because you have the Gusu Lan Sect’s backing doesn’t mean any of us will lower our guards around you!” A female cultivator added fiercely.
Wei Wuxian almost burst out laughing. Oh how paranoid cultivators’ minds were when in regards to the Yiling Patriarch.
He raised a flippant hand as he moved through the crowd that parted for him, "I'm too lazy to deal with you people. If you didn't come here for the truth or whatever, I'm not going to stop you from leaving. In fact, I welcome it! Come on, Lan Zhan!"
Wei Wuxian began his trek up the Burial Mounds with Lan Wangji right beside him. Hanguang-Jun’s golden eyes swept over the surrounding cultivators, his gaze deep and chilling. There was no doubt in anyone’s minds that if they tried to mess with Wei Wuxian, they’d had to get through Hanguang-Jun first.
The rest of Gusu Lan Sect followed after them, then the Qinghe Nie Sect, the Lanling Jin Sect, and lastly, the Yunmeng Jiang Sect.
With the Four Great Clans on their way to the Burial Mounds, the smaller sects glanced at each other for a brief moment before following as well. No matter how much they shouted and reasoned to themselves that it was a bad idea (a trap!), their curiosity still won out.
Who didn't want to hear more gossip about the Yiling Patriarch? Maybe all the rumors they'd heard thirteen years ago were actually true? This was the only time they could confirm it!
Standing at the opening of the cave where he used to live, Wei Wuxian surveyed the area, trying to sense another presence with them.
Lan Wangji glanced around, "No one's here."
Wei Wuxian nodded and slowly stepped inside with the Lan disciples holding their swords out in front of them. Meanwhile, Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji held their own at their sides, perpetually on guard.
“Wei-xiong, what do you think is going on? Do you know who the sender is?” Nie Huaisang suddenly sidled up to his side, whispering with his fan covering his mouth.
Wei Wuxian glanced at him from the corner of his eye, “I thought you might have some knowledge about it, Clan Leader Nie?”
“No, no. I don’t know. I don’t know anything this time. I swear.” Nie Huaisang said, fanning himself rapidly.
Wei Wuxian sighed, about to say something when he heard Jiang Cheng scold, “Jin Ling, why did you come? Shouldn’t you be back in Carp Tower organizing your sect? You shouldn’t be here.”
Jin Ling, who was soon going to be the Clan Leader of Lanling Jin Sect after Jin Guangyao’s death, flushed and he angrily replied, “Uncle, I received an invitation too and besides, thirteen years ago… thirteen years ago was when my mother died. I-I want to know if there’s something more about the battle in Nightless City too.”
Jiang Cheng seemed to freeze at the mention of his sister’s death but then he scowled and smacked the back of Jin Ling’s head, “What more do you need to know?! It’s not something kids should find out until they’re older!”
“I’m going to be Clan Leader soon, Uncle! Y-You can’t treat me like a kid forever.” Jin Ling rebutted.
“You—!”
“Ey, ey. That’s enough.” Wei Wuxian appeared in the middle of them and slung an arm around both of their shoulders. “We shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves. Come on, let’s just find that anonymous sender, listen to what he or she has to say then leave. Yeah?”
Jiang Cheng stared at him hard, before he brushed his arm off, “Whatever.” He walked away to stand by his sect.
Wei Wuxian watched his back and shook his head. After patting Jin Ling’s shoulder, he moved to stand beside Hanguang-Jun who immediately held his hand as though he knew Wei Wuxian needed it.
Smiling, Wei Wuxian looked left and right briefly and after making certain there was no one watching them, he gave Lan Zhan a peck on the cheek. There was no expression on the man’s face but Wei Wuxian could clearly see his ears redden from the act. Wei Wuxian chuckled into his other hand.
“Clan Leader, there doesn’t seem to be anyone around here. Should we leave?” One of the Lan disciples came over to report. Lan Xichen furrowed his brows, thinking on what to do next. The only reason he agreed to go out of his seclusion was because he wanted to know if A-Yao had done anything more that he didn’t tell them before his death.
If this all just turned into a big joke to fool around with the other sects (although the method of the letter arriving to them was mysterious), then he could only blame himself for being too hasty and bring the Gusu Lan sect back.
However, as soon as the last person from the smaller sects stepped into the cave, there was a sudden noise and the earth began to move under them. Some disciples fell from the unexpected phenomenon while others tried to steady themselves, looking around vigilantly for an attack.
Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian around the waist, keeping him from falling.
But everyone soon realized that the entrance they'd just entered had been closed shut by a huge boulder.
"We're trapped!" One cultivator shouted in panic.
"Move aside," Jiang Cheng stepped up as he released Zidian. He swung his arm down and struck the boulder with the whip but as if there was spiritual power wrapped around it, the whip bounced back, nearly hitting some of the cultivators behind him.
Jiang Cheng looked surprised, staring down at Zidian, "What the—?"
Before anyone could react, Lan Wangji had jumped over and sent Bichen sailing towards the rock. Just as it did with Zidian, the sword couldn't strike it and Lan Wangji called the sword back into its sheath.
The cultivators who saw this grew pale. How could both Clan Leader Jiang and Hanguang-Jun not strike a dent at an unsuspecting boulder? Something wasn’t right!
Wei Wuxian came over to inspect the strange boulder. He pressed a hand against it and closed his eyes. For a moment, the other sects forgot about Wei Wuxian's identity and they watched him with bated breath for his judgment.
"This spiritual power… it isn't resentful. I don't feel any malice from it." Wei Wuxian stroked his chin contemplatively.
Lan Xichen played a few tunes with his flute, Liebing. After a few notes, he opened his eyes and agreed with Wei Wuxian's words, "This isn't no normal cultivator’s doing. If it could stand against Clan Leader Jiang's Zidian and Wangji's Bichen, then they must be very powerful."
"So whatever hell does this cultivator want from us?" Jiang Cheng scowled.
"For us to know the truth." Wei Wuxian responded, his back to him. He turned around with a grin and a glint in his eye, "Isn't that what we're here for?"
Suddenly, one sect leader of a smaller clan commented suspiciously, "You seem to know something we don't, huh Wei Wuxian?"
"If you're implying that I'm smarter than you, then you're absolutely right." Wei Wuxian cheekily replied.
"You—!"
The younger disciples behind him who had come to know Wei Wuxian during the events in Yi City, burst out laughing, making him lose face even more.
"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan said, subtly telling his lover to play nice. It wouldn't do to anger a sect, even if they were a small one, while trapped in here. They had bigger issues to face.
Wei Wuxian immediately gravitated towards him. "Okay, okay, I'll stop Lan Zhan. I'll be good." He scratched Lan Zhan under his chin, eyes fixed on him, and Wei Wuxian smiled triumphantly when a corner of Lan Zhan's lips turned up into a small smile.
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at the couple's dog food. He didn't come up here just to watch the two lovebirds go at it. Although if anyone asked him the reason why he did, he'd refuse to answer.
"Hanguang-Jun, Senior Wei! There's something here." Lan Sizhui's call brought the two older cultivators towards the area of the blood pool.
Lan Sizhui pointed at a circular device sitting innocently on the stone table.
"That's strange. I don't remember a stone table being here before." Wei Wuxian pondered as Lan Wangji eyed the item suspiciously. As he was focused on the device, he didn't notice that Wei Wuxian had leaned over to touch it until it was too late.
"Wei Yi—!"
Suddenly, bright light filled the room and everyone cried out in surprise. They shut their eyes tight until the light gradually dimmed to tolerable levels.
"Wei Wuxian, are you an idiot? You don't just touch something suspicious without checking it first." Jiang Cheng harshly reprimanded, rubbing an eye to get his sight back.
"What's that?!" Jin Ling exclaimed, blinking his eyes open.
In front of them was a raised projection of a square-shaped screen and on it were the words:
The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation
All eyes immediately landed on Wei Wuxian.
He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head with Chenqing.
"I knew it! I knew this had something to do with you, Yiling Patriarch! Out with it, what do you want with us?"
"Maybe he's trying to eliminate us now that Jin Guangyao is out of the way."
"We won't let you do it!"
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, not even deigning to turn around while responding, "If you guys have already forgotten, we're all trapped in here, including me."
"This could just be a trap of your own making! You've been living here for years, who knows what contraptions you have set up."
The other cultivators began to agree and speculated some more. Wei Wuxian was starting to regret coming here. Maybe the sender was an enemy and just wanted him to die by recreating the third Burial Mound siege.
Lan Wangji silently stood beside him but he had a tight grip on his sword, prepared to fight against anyone who dared harm Wei Ying.
Lan Sizhui glanced worriedly over the crowd while Jin Ling's brows were furrowed and he clutched his sword beside him. Jiang Cheng stood imposing and silent, eyes narrowed at the people bad mouthing Wei Wuxian.
Then there was the sound of tiny rocks falling above them and everyone instantly quieted down.
Wei Wuxian glanced up and to his surprise, he found Wen Ning trying to stick himself as close to the rocky surface as possible.
“Wen Ning?!”
“Uncle Ning!”
His and Sizhui’s call overlapped.
Realizing that he’d been discovered, Wen Ning jumped down from the ceiling and bowed, “Master Wei!”
Wei Wuxian was bewildered by his appearance, “What are you doing here? No, how did you get here?”
“I-I,” Wen Ning stuttered, glancing at him nervously before he shot a look at Lan Sizhui and looked back down, “I was following you guys up here. I wanted to speak with A-Yuan but then I noticed all of you leaving in a hurry and decided to come with.”
Wei Wuxian shook his head and chuckled. “Oh well, since you’re here, Wen Ning, why don’t you try hitting that boulder blocking the entrance.”
Wen Ning agreed and immediately dashed towards it. Some cultivators who’d been keeping quiet exclaimed in surprise as the Ghost General passed by them so fast.
The moment Wen Ning hit the boulder with a fist, the cave shook slightly but other than that, nothing happened.
“I’m sorry, Master Wei. I couldn’t break it.” Wen Ning apologized and bowed. Seeing such a docile side of the Ghost General, many cultivators were wide-eyed and stunned. Didn’t the rumors say that Wen Ning was a vicious resentful corpse that would kill anyone in sight? Where was that horrible monster in front of them?
However, other cultivators, who couldn’t reconcile with the fact that the Ghost General was just standing among them, shouted, “Maybe if we killed this corpse, the Yiling Patriarch might finally drop the act and free us from his trap!”
One brave soul roared and jumped towards Wen Ning, flying at him with his sword out. Wei Wuxian snorted and stood back to watch. Wen Ning could take care of himself.
But before the cultivator could reach him, he suddenly dropped from the air and spat out blood. Everyone stared at him in shock. The cultivator tried to wield his sword but it was like it was acting against him. He paled and exclaimed, “M-My spiritual powers are gone.”
Everyone suddenly had a bad premonition in their hearts. They all tried using their spiritual powers, but as expected, it was gone just like six months ago in the second Burial Mound siege.
“It can’t be!”
“What’s happening!?”
“Did somebody play the Collection of Turmoil while we went up here again?”
“Now you definitely can’t blame this on me!” Wei Wuxian defended with hands raised in the air, “We arrived to the Burial Mounds last and walked into the cave first, all without playing music.”
Before anyone could begin speculating the culprit, a loud noise like that of a thousand troops cheering resonated throughout the whole cave. It frightened everyone to draw their swords in random directions even though they knew it’d be useless.
However, nothing was coming for them. Instead, it seemed like the sound was coming from the strange device on the stone table.
Everyone watched, entranced, as the screen that had once been displaying The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation earlier changed into a set of pictures that were moving. A crowd of people, most likely cultivators, were raising their swords in jubilance in front of a great fire with smoke filling the sky. As they cheered, voices spoke over them that sounded like people gossiping in the streets.
“Great news! Wei Wuxian is dead!”
The said man scowled, “What do you mean dead? I’m right here?”
However, Lan Wangji, who was staring at the scene with grave eyes, held Wei Wuxian’s hand and whispered, “Not now. In the past.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened as he understood.
“The Yiling Patriarch is finally dead? Who could have killed him?”
“Who other than his shidi, Jiang Cheng! He put an end to his own relative for the greater good. Jiang Cheng led the Four Clans of Yunmeng Jiang, Lanling Jin, Gusu Lan, and Qinghe Nie to destroy his den in the Burial Mounds.” As the gossipers spoke, the scene displayed the Burial Mounds in ruins, houses destroyed, and pots and tables broken on the ground.
Soon, it was clear to most of them what they were watching. They were confused as to why they were being shown something so long ago, especially on a topic that everyone already knew about. However, they couldn’t help but watch as they were enchanted by these moving pictures that seemed to be telling the Yiling Patriarch’s story in a very captivating way.
Having been too young to experience the aftermath of the battle themselves, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and the rest of the younger disciples felt horrified watching the screen. They occasionally sent glances towards Wei Wuxian who was squinting at the images, unmoved. Jin Ling was looking between his uncle and Wei Wuxian, feeling strange inside as the voices continued.
“But the Yiling Patriarch and the Four Clans were allies during the Sunshot Campaign, right?”
“You call that being allies? If not for the previous Yunmeng Jiang Clan Leader adopting and teaching Wei Wuxian, he would have been a beggar living on the streets, causing mayhem as bold as the ones these days. The head of the Jiang clan even raised him as his own dear son, but what did he do? He defected and became the enemy of the cultivation world, bringing shame to the clan and even leading to their near-extermination. He really is a prime example of ungratefully biting the hand that feeds him!”
“What an ungrateful bastard!”
The scene continued to show cultivators fighting against the zombies Wei Wuxian had made to protect the Burial Mounds but it was pointless. The place the Wen remnants used to live was burned and razed to the ground.
The gossiping man went on to complain about Jiang Cheng’s actions for allowing Wei Wuxian to live this long. Had it been a more sensible cultivator, he would have killed the Yiling Patriarch the moment he defected, then examine the disciples of the sect again to avoid another mad one committing these atrocious acts. He went on to say, “Who cares about the so called ‘considerations’ for a childhood friend?”
The longer he listened, the tighter Jiang Cheng’s grip grew on his sword. He glared fiercely at the screen, wishing that he could shut those voices up with a strike of Zidian but the whip wouldn’t answer to his call now.
Wei Wuxian gave a passing glance at his martial brother before he looked away, feeling conflicted inside. He knew it was his fault that people complained about Jiang Cheng’s capabilities since he hadn’t been able to control the Yiling Patriarch from defecting and committing plenty of “atrocious acts”. But it was the best Wei Wuxian could think of to protect the Wen remnants while making sure that the Jiang clan wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions.
A woman’s voice suddenly spoke up, “That’s merely hearsay. Although Jiang Cheng was one of the main forces, he didn’t give Wei Wuxian the final blow. Because he cultivates a twisted and dark path, Wei Wuxian’s powers had backfired and he was ripped to pieces by his own ghost soldiers!”
Right after those words were spoken, the image zoomed into the fires and revealed a figure who looked to be in great torture. Although the older cultivators had a vague idea of the person being shown on screen, Lan Wangji knew clear as day who that person was and his heartbeat accelerated.
Then, everybody heard the sound of an ear-splitting scream filled with great agony, followed by the sounds of flesh tearing apart. Although most of them had been there to see the death of the Yiling Patriarch, none of them could suppress the shivers that swept down their spines hearing it a second time. No one wished to experience a death so gruesome.
Meanwhile, the younger disciples were completely unprepared. They paled and cringed over the horrible sounds, looking away from the screen and wishing they hadn’t heard it all. How could someone as happy and chivalrous as the Wei Wuxian they knew experience something so terrible in his first life? Even though they’d grown up hearing stories about the evil acts of the Yiling Patriarch, they couldn’t reconcile the same person with the man before them.
Lan Sizhui, in particular, seemed to be at the point of tears. His Xian-Gege had experienced such hardships protecting his family’s clan. His chest was wrought with heavy and stifling emotions that he didn’t know how to express. Wen Ning, who hadn’t been there for Wei Wuxian’s final moments, looked down, his face stoic but his hands at his sides were clenched very tightly.
But Wei Wuxian himself wasn’t bothered about his own death. What he was most concerned about was Lan Zhan.
He was staring at the man beside him who had blanched the moment he heard Wei Wuxian scream. Thankfully, the image had faded to black to hide the more horrible aspects of his death though the sounds left no room to the imagination. The hand he was holding even began to tremble.
“Shh, Lan Zhan, it’s okay. I’m here.” Wei Wuxian murmured into the taller man’s ear, sticking very close to his side.
Lan Wangji seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and he stared intensely at Wei Wuxian before he brought the shorter male into his embrace. He breathed in his familiar smell and whispered, “Wei Ying.” The simple call of his name seemed to carry a thousand burdens.
Wei Wuxian hugged him back tighter, wishing he could take away all of the man’s sorrow and pain from thirteen years ago.
Lan Xichen glanced at the couple with sad eyes, knowing his brother wouldn’t be able to handle such a scene about someone he deeply loved. It was a good thing Wei Wuxian was by his side now or else he wouldn’t know how Lan Wangji would have coped.
The image on screen suddenly showed an inn with people inside drinking and chatting as usual. A certain group seemed to be the main attraction as they loudly discussed the Yiling Patriarch’s demise. One man laughed and banged the table, “Ha, that’s his own fault for walking such a twisted and forbidden path! The ghost soldiers that he created were like unleashed dogs, biting everyone that they came across. It serves him right to be chewed to death; that’s karma for you!”
Hearing these words, Wei Wuxian winced a little, muttering, “Why does everyone have to relate things to dogs?”
Lan Wangji tightened his hold on Wei Wuxian and glared at the screen. Although he couldn’t do anything about these rumors, he did his best to avoid them as much as possible so he wouldn’t end up attacking countless people whose sole crime was hating on the Yiling Patriarch.
Lan Jingyi frowned and looked at Wen Ning, “But the Ghost General isn’t anything like the rumors say. These people are just spouting bull—I mean, nonsense!” He quickly changed his language, coughing a little as he remembered that Master and Clan Leader were here.
The other younger disciples nodded. Ouyang Zizhen added in, “Yeah, they talk as if they know Senior Wei so well but it’s obvious they don’t! You’d be stupid to believe in just these common hearsays.”
The older cultivators who heard this sweatdropped.
Another person jumped into the conversation, “You know, if Jiang Cheng never planned to aim at Wei Wuxian’s weaknesses, who knows if the siege would’ve been successful or not. Should I remind you folks of the item that Wei Wuxian possesses? The Stygian Tiger Amulet that completely annihilated three thousand skilled cultivators in a single night?”
“I heard that it was more than three thousand. Maybe five thousand?”
The gossipers threw more exaggerated ideas, causing the cultivators in the cave who had shouted at Wei Wuxian during the second siege feel a bit ashamed. They might have been a bit too gullible in believing the rumors so easily. But how could one know what was real or not when it came to the Yiling Patriarch?
“It’s a good thing that he destroyed that evil weapon before he died. Otherwise, if it was left in this world to harm humankind, his sins would have been greater.” As he spoke, the scene showed a great explosion of the Stygian Tiger Amulet getting destroyed, leaving a mushroom cloud in the sky.
Too bad someone like Xue Yang existed who had the talent to recreate his work just by reading his notes, Wei Wuxian bitterly thought.
“Did you know back then, Wei Wuxian was one of the most promising cultivators in his generation, coming from a highly distinguished sect and finding success at a young age. How on earth did he end up where he is now?”
“Using these dishonest practices would only seem beneficial at first glance but hey, look at where it got him. Not even an entire corpse was left behind.”
Wei Wuxian shivered. He was glad no corpse was left behind of him since Lan Zhan had gone back to the Burial Mounds to search for any sign of him. He’d rather be remembered for his past self’s beautiful appearance, thank you very much!
Someone continued to say, “Not everything was because of his cultivation path. Wei Wuxian’s personality was quite immoral too. One’s deeds will be paid, one way or another; what goes around always comes around.”
A woman then cut in, “Oh yeah… doesn’t Wei Wuxian have the ability to seize another’s body? What if… his soul returns and possesses someone to revive himself?”
Wei Wuxian snorted. These people really expected the worst from him. He shouldn’t be surprised by now.
“That’s impossible! One hundred and twenty stone beasts were placed around the top of Burial Mound. All of the various clans had initiated numerous soul-summoning rituals and none of them have found his soul.”
Now that was a surprise for him. His soul couldn’t be found? More like somebody had probably locked his soul away and kept him hidden until the time was right to release him back into the world.
Wei Wuxian whispered to his lover, “Do you think my soul being missing was from you-know-who’s actions?”
Lan Zhan threw a side-glance at the Qinghe Nie sect and nodded shortly.
Humming, Wei Wuxian turned back to the screen and continued watching.
“It’s already been thirteen years. It looks like that Yiling Patriarch had really perished!”
“I don’t suppose that there’d be anyone else in this world who can revive the Yiling Patriarch, would there?”
“Aside from himself, who else would be that capable?”
Nearly everyone in the cave internally sighed, knowing that a certain son of Jin Guangshao had done it.
The gossipers laughed and drank some more but their voices eventually faded away until the scene turned black again.
Wei Wuxian liked to believe that none of their words had affected him but just like in his previous life, he felt anger and resentment rise in him at having his whole character painted black by these people who knew nothing about him. He was only human, after all. But Wei Wuxian managed to curb it since he had somebody beside him who would always stand by his side no matter what.
“Lan Zhan, you know I’m nothing like what they said, right?” Wei Wuxian asked anyway, feeling a need to hear a verbal confirmation from his husband.
Lan Wangji nodded without hesitation, “Wei Ying is a good person. Always has and always will be.”
Hearing such words of faith fall from Hanguang-Jun’s lips, Wei Wuxian grinned happily and couldn’t resist the urge to hug Lan Zhan and kiss him on the cheek. Lan Wangji didn’t reprimand him for his excessive show of affection around others, and instead turned it up a notch by pecking him on the lips. Wei Wuxian was delighted but he held back for the sake of the younger disciples (and Jiang Cheng’s virgin eyes). To others, it seemed that Lan Wangji cared more about Wei Wuxian than his own reputation.
The cultivators who hadn’t heard their exchange were a bit impressed by Wei Wuxian’s ability to continue smiling after that. They wouldn’t have been able to handle it if they’d been barraged with insults directed at them so shamelessly in front of a crowd. Although they’d once believed in the evilness of the Yiling Patriarch, they couldn’t help but feel that there seemed to be something more to it than just what they’ve seen and heard in the surface.
Of course, those who held deep grudges against the Yiling Patriarch all secretly agreed with the words of those voices. No matter what, they wouldn’t be able to let go of the bad blood they had for him due to the fact that he had destroyed either their own or their family’s lives.
As everyone rumminated on what they’ve just seen, the screen once more presented a new image, revealing a person sitting in a bloody array with ominous music echoing in the background.