Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian hesitantly glanced around to see any sign of the dog, "H-Hanguang-Jun.. I don't see any monsters here. The man-eating castle must just be a rumor. Let's go back."
A middle-aged man sighed, "Aiyo, what happened to the fearsome Yiling Patriarch? I used to think he was a blood-thirsty demon who would eat my children if I wasn’t careful.."
Lan Wangji spoke, "It's Jin Ling's dog, Fairy."
"Fairy?" Jiang Fengmian looked quite constipated, "..I see he got his gift of naming from A-Cheng.."
Wei Wuxian startled, "Jin Ling?"
"It is barking furiously." Lan Wangji informed, "It must see something."
His attention distracted from the dog, Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes, 'Could it be.. The arm?'
"Well he recovered awfully fast."
"Right, what happened to the 'Hanguang-Jun, there's a scary dog, save me! Since I love you so, I shall leap into your arms like a frail maiden!' "
Wei Wuxian blinked, "Frail maiden...? What-"
"But going back to what he said.. Or thought... Who cares--The arm could play a part in this. Having such vigorous resentful energy could mean anything."
"But didn't Hanguang-Jun and Senior Wei seal the arm back in Gusu? Why would it be in Qinghe?"
"It could have escaped! Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji surely had trouble suppressing its power."
"Or perhaps... Perhaps it's the rest of the body!"
"You're so smart! I never would have thought of that!"
"This way!" With a gasp, he sprinted forwards, Lan Wangji following close behind.
"Lan Wangji looks like that husband who would carry all of his wife's bags when they go on a trip."
"He looks like the kind of husband who would cook dinner and take care of the kids while his wife is lazing around in bed."
"And the kind of husband who would teach his children sword forms while their mother is running about doing who-knows-what."
"And the kind of husband who would chuck money around when his wife is shopping."
"Hold up, that last one is already known facts."
"Right," A Lan disciple turned around, "Why are you guys making up Hanguang-Jun's life?"
"Well, they aren't that far off.." Another Lan muttered.
When they finally stopped, Wei Wuxian glanced around, "Something is not right."
"Mn," Lan Wangji hummed, "It's a maze."
"Oh no! Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have encountered a great conundrum! How will they advance forwards? Keep watching to find out!"
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji furthered deeper into the cedarwood forest and were eventually faced with a variety of stone castles.
Nie Mingjue heavily sighed, "So much for security.."
"Oh no! There is more stone! Could it be, they are legendary puppets by the stone Goddess?!"
"Calm down, brother. They are just the stone castles that dude was talking about."
"But after that statue abuse, I don't trust them near stone anymore.." The person who spoke made a strained face.
“...”
Wei Wuxian contemplated their surroundings, 'So there really are stone castles inside the Xinglu Ridge. Seems like the legends didn't appear out of thin air after all.'
Nie Huaisang really wanted his fan.
Suddenly, a dog's bark once again resounded within the distance. Wei Wuxian jolted and immediately hid behind Lan Wangji, "Why is it still here.. Where's its owner?! Why did its owner disappear?!"
Wen Ruohan made a sound that resembled a kettle.
Lan Wangji spoke, "As such a loyal guardian, it won't leave its master's side. So he must be nearby."
Wei Wuxian screeched, "Why is it coming over here?!"
"The dog is spiritual, is it not? It's leading you to something, follow it!"
A girl replied, "But Wei Wuxian is scared. You can't ask him to do that."
Lan Wangji spoke, "Let us go inside to see."
Wei Wuxian sniffled, "How? There's no door."
"You make your own door." A Nie disciple added, completely ignorant to the fact that he was encouraging the divulgence of his own Sect's secret.
Wei Wuxian began to yell as fairy tugged on his robes, "Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!"
"Oh? It seems he forgot about his whole 'Mo Xuanyu Act'."
"But there's no point in continuing it, Lan Wangji already knows it's him."
"But Wei Wuxian is a dense brick, remember? He obviously can't tell."
The dog dragged Wei Wuxian, who was dragging Lan Wangji, to one of the stone castles, where a large hole was already embedded into the stone.
The person who was previously speaking about stone abuse looked extremely troubled, "That poor stoneling.."
"Stoneling? What's that?"
"A baby stone.."
“Uh..”
Lan Wangji put a hand to the destroyed rubble, "A spiritual weapon broke it."
Wei Wuxian spoke, "Jin Ling must've broken through the stone castle by force before something happened to him when he went in."
Jiang Yanli bit her lip, "A-Ling.." She shared a worried glance with her husband, "A-Xuan, he will be fine, right?"
Although it was events that have already happened, it did nothing to ease the worry etched in her heart.
"He's our son, A-Li," Jin Zixuan snuggled closer to his family, "He's here with us now, is he not?"
Somewhere behind Wen Ruohan, a girl cooed.
As they entered with short footsteps, Lan Wangji unsheathed bichen by an inch to use as a source of light.
The deeper they went, the more dark and spacious it became.
Lan Wangji spoke, "How is it?"
Suddenly, a loud ringing erupted within the room. Wei Wuxian gave a pained groan as he covered his ears with both hands.
"Ow."
"My poor ears."
"I think that did permanent damage."
"What's wrong?" Lan Wangji worriedly asked.
"Stop pretending you don't know, Lan Wangji."
"That was so loud, how could you not notice?"
"Did you guys ever stop to think that only Wei Wuxian heard it?"
"Oh. Perhaps you’re right.”
“Maybe it's because he's a demonic cultivator."
"It might be the resentment of spirits!"
Wei Wuxian spoke, "It's so noisy."
Seeing that an unknown force was keeping Fairy outside, Lan Wangji deduced, "There must be an incantation to stop spirits and monsters from entering."
"Well it certainly didn't stop Wei Wuxian." A Yao disciple added with a chuckle.
“No one asked you.” Li Daiyu rolled her eyes, “Keep your nasty comments to yourself.”
"Huh?" Wei Wuxian complained, the ringing now a mild chime, "No door, no window, and no spirits! That's quite interesting."
"So the noise wasn't resentful spirits? Then what was it?"
Wei Wuxian pulled out his own brand-new compass of evil. The hand spasmed, twisting and turning in a full circle continuously.
"The compass of evil.. Didn't those rogue cultivators say it was faulty?"
"Their one didn't work because they were faced with a Goddess Statue, not a resentful being."
Lan Wangji spoke, "A trap door." Wei Wuxian glanced up in interest.
"This feels like a little adventure," Jingyi squealed, "It's exciting!"
One of the large stone walls began to rise, dropping heaps of stones and rocks, as well as leaving a cloud of smoke.
A long hallway was displayed before them, much narrower than the space before, but more delicately designed.
Lan Wangji infused his qi into the row of torches hung on the wall and watched as they lit up in flames, illuminating the dark hallway.
"Woah, that looked handsome."
"Really handsome."
"Extremely handsome."
"Marry me, Lan Wangji."
"No."
Meanwhile, Jingyi was sprawled out on the floor, laughing hysterically.
At the end of the hallway was yet another large room, except an altar lied in the middle with a large coffin displayed on top of the stone platform. There was dust, debris, bugs, and cobwebs for all to see, signifying that it was old and had remained untouched for years.
"A coffin? This is my first time seeing a coffin!"
"The only coffin I've seen is my great-grandmas, but I was like four!!"
"That's kinda deep, but okay!!"
"Ha! I knew I was right! The rest of the body is in that coffin!"
They both climbed up the short stairs and stood on the altar, the small gust of wind that followed inducing more dust from the room.
"It's an old coffin! That means it's been there for an old time!"
"Don't you mean long time?"
"Right, long time! But there's a lot of resentment within the arm, which means it has gathered for a while!"
"How smart! I never would have linked that together!"
"Guys, we should do this more! We're so smart we'll be solving murder cases in a matter of seconds!"
"Yeah! By the looks of it, the Yiling Patriarch hasn't even figured it out!"
"Haha, we're too intelligent for our own good."
Wei Wuxian placed a hand on the coffin, "Nice coffin."
"Wei Wuxian," Wen Qing sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You haven't changed a bit."
"But seriously," Jiang Cheng added with a pair of rolling eyes, "You don't just waltz up to a coffin and say it looks nice. You just--don't."
He infused a hand with demonic qi and slammed his palm into the lid, watching as it immediately opened.
"Wow!"
"That looks awesome!! Someone teach me that!"
"What's going to be inside? Keep watching to find out!"
"Stop, this really isn't a theatre show."
Without warning, a heavy pressure released from within the coffin, followed by a loud noise, but Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had yet to falter.
When the instance finally ended, Wei Wuxian removed his hands from his ears with a gasp. "What?"
Within the coffin lied not a corpse, but a saber.
"What?"
"Why is a saber there?
"Isn't that what the Nie Sect cultivates with?"
"But why would they make a coffin for it?"
"Perhaps it is to show respect?"
Wei Wuxian hummed, "It's my first time seeing a coffin made for a blade."
"Mine too!"
"Mine three!"
"Mine four!"
Jiang Cheng was sure he was going to end up Qi Deviating like Lan Qiren at this point, "We get it, you agree."
Lan Wangji spoke, "There must be a reason for having a blade in a coffin and the protective incantation placed on it."
Wei Wuxian startled, "And Jin Ling! Where is Jin Ling?!"
Jin Ling wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was touched by the concern.
Lan Wangji sent him a side glance, "We will know soon."
Walking deeper inside, they found coffins similar to the first within the other chambers as well. Both the ages and the materials of the coffins were different. And inside every coffin, there lied a long saber.
Wei Wuxian observed, 'This is the last room. There's still only sabers inside the coffins.'
Nie Mingjue made a constipated face.
After shutting the lid to the coffin, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji shared a glance.
Lan Wangji pulled out his guqin, Wangji, and began to play inquiry.
"What's he doing?" A Jiang disciple questioned.
"He's playing inquiry, a song known to the Lan Clan." A Lan disciple answered, "It lets you communicate with souls."
"With souls..?!" One of the girls squeaked, "Perhaps.. Perhaps he did that for Wei Wuxian when he died!"
"Oh my goodness!"
"So romantic!"
" So romantic! " A Jin disciple mocked, "Did you not pay attention at the beginning of this? It said Wei Wuxian's soul couldn't be summoned. Stop daydreaming."
"Bro, who remembers stuff like that? The beginning was like ten years ago.."
"Besides, playing it for Wei Wuxian and being answered is different!"
"Right, even if he didn't play it for thirteen years, I'll still believe he did! And I'll do that because I can, and I want to!!"
"Such passion! Girl, I'm with you!"
"Me too!"
"Me three!"
Wei Wuxian watched with interest, "Hanguang-Jun, ask a few questions for me. Where is this place? What's it used for? Who built it?"
When the song finally ended, Lan Wangji placed his hands on the strings.
"That sounded really pretty."
"As expected of Lan Wangji, the pride of GusuLan!"
Wei Wuxian asked, "What did it say?"
Lan Wangji replied, "I do not know."
Various people glanced between Lan Wangji and Nie Huaisang with barely-contained snickers.
"Huh?"
Lan Wangji repeated, "It said -I do not know-"
"Oh."
A chuckle, "Is Sect Leader Nie dead? He's right here though.."
"That really wasn't funny dude."
"It really wasn't."
Wei Wuxian stared incredulously, 'What a person Lan Zhan has become. He's even learned how to make me speechless.'
"Indeed, what a person he has become." Li Daiyu shook her head with a smile, "Ah, the way age can make some people look more handsome."
"Uh," Nie Huaisang blinked, "Li-Guniang, I think he was talking about Lan Wangji's personality."
Wei Wuxian hummed in thought, "Ask it again. Does it know who killed it?"
After receiving the same response, Wei Wuxian spoke, "It still doesn't know? Then ask it if it used to be a man or a woman. There's no way it doesn't know."
"Male." Lan Wangji replied after a short moment.
Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes, "He definitely knows something. Ask if a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy has come here before."
"Yes."
A gasp erupted from Jiang Yanli, "A-Ling.."
"Then where is he now?"
Lan Wangji raised his head, "It said -Right Here-"
"So Jin Ling is with them? Where is he? Is he hiding?"
Wei Wuxian frowned, "But we've searched through the whole place and never saw Jin Ling. Did he lie?"
The Lans tried not to laugh at him.
They failed spectacularly.
Lan Wangji spoke, "When answering inquiry, spirits are unable to lie. They can either choose not to talk or tell the truth."
After watching the spirit make its reply, Wei Wuxian spoke, "What did you ask?"
"How old he is. Where he is from." Lan Wangji replied.
"And?"
"Fifteen. From Lanling."
"Oh noes."
"Little Mistress.."
"Young Jin.."
Wei Wuxian's eyes widened, 'So the soul that inquiry found was Jin Ling?!'
"Wait," A Jin disciple mockingly held a hand to his chin as he pretended to think, "What was that, little Lans? I thought you said that it can only be performed on deceased souls.." He smirked, openly showing ridicule, "I suppose your clan techniques are outdated."
"You idiot, it can be performed on any soul. The young Jin's soul was still clinging to his body, but it was still qualified to reply to inquiry. Stuuupid."
"How am I stupid?! You're the one who clearly said it's only used on dead people!"
"I never said that!" The Lan snapped back, "It's used to contact deceased souls! I never said that was the only use!"
"Yes you did! Shut up!"
"Peacock!"
"Ant!"
"Pea brain!"
"Horse dung!"
Jingyi was busy laughing throughout the entire conversation, "Horse dung? I'm dead-"
Wei Wuxian hurriedly asked, "Have you got Jin Ling's location?"
"Stand where you are, face the southwest, and listen to the notes." Lan Wangji instructed. "After each note is played, walk forward by a step. When the sounds stop, he will be in front of you."
Wei Wuxian followed the command, and soon found himself standing before the wall, 'He's inside the wall?!'
"Little Mistress..." Jingyi trailed off, "How was it living inside a wall? Was it comfortable?"
"Of course it's you who's asking," Jin Ling gave into the temptation of rolling his eyes, "I'm sure you'd enjoy it. Go walk into a wall, I'll help get you inside if it makes you shut up."
"Really? You would-"
"It was sarcasm, Jingyi."
"...Oh." Lan Jingyi raised his head, "But if you're really willing to-"
"Stop right there." Jin Ling chided, "I am not burying you inside a wall. I don't want to be blamed for child murder if you happen to suffocate to death."
“..Child murder..?”
"Jingyi, I'll help you!" Ouyang Zizhen chirped, and was once again slapped at the back of the head.
Lan Wangji unsheathed bichen and smoothly sliced at the wall four times, before watching as it crumbled to the floor. Wei Wuxian furiously clawed at the wall until Jin Ling's face came into view, "Jin Ling! Thank heavens he's still alive!"
"A-Ling!" Both Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan called.
Jin Ling frowned (read: pouted), "Sorry for making you worry..."
Lan Wangji spoke, "We seemed to have caught the still-alive soul that was about to leave his body."
"Still-alive soul?!"
A Lan disciple smirked, “Stupid Jin, looks like I was right!”
“Shut up!” The Jin replied.
Meanwhile, a confused Lan Qiren shook his head, “What has happened to my Lans..? They are all such barbarians now..”
Wei Wuxian began to pull Jin Ling’s body out, "It wasn't long since he was buried inside. If we took just a second longer, he would've suffocated to death."
"Young Master!" The Jins frantically turned to face Jin Ling.
Another sighed in relief, "Thank goodness they got there when they did!"
Jingyi looked on the verge of tears, "Little Mistress, you nearly died ?"
Jin Ling huffed, "No! I wasn't gonna die! But you are probably having second thoughts of being buried in the wall, aren't you?"
Just as Jin Ling's torso escaped, a skeletal arm reached out from within the wall and hauled him back. Despite its efforts, Wei Wuxian was most definitely stronger than a weak hand of bones, "What's this?"
"Ew."
"Is that-?!"
"Is that the young Jin's arm?! But-" They glanced to Jin Ling, who's arm was, infact, perfectly fine.
"Oh wait, I can see both of his shoulders. His arms are fine."
"Wow, I see it too. What idiot said it was his arm?"
"You."
As Lan Wangji began to check Jin Ling's pulse, Wei Wuxian poked his head through the hole in the wall, "Could anything else be buried inside this wall apart from Jin Ling?"
"Uh, maybe skeletons? I mean, we just saw an arm.."
Upon witnessing a rotten skeleton embedded within the dirt, Wei Wuxian gasped, "Don't tell me.."
He pulled apart the wall once again, widening the gap, as well as revealing a second skeleton. "These.."
"Is that what I'll look like when I die? That's really ugly.."
'I know now! The inside of this stone castle's thick walls was packed with human corpses!'
The screen faded into black.
Nie Huaisang was hiding behind his big shield, also known as Wen Ruohan.
"Now everybody has found out," Nie Mingjue facepalmed, "Our ancestors' secret that we have so heavily guarded is now disclosed to the public.."
The Jins were already raising their noses like a herd of peacocks.
"So, Chifeng-Zun. You've slaughtered people and used them for your own purposes!"
"How selfish!"
"No, it's simply unrighteous! How can you call yourselves cultivators?!"
"Why did these idiots get resurrected again?" Someone muttered.
"We didn't kill anybody!" Nie Huaisang yelled, and immediately regretted it after everyone's eyes drifted to him. He muttered a small, "They were bodies about to become fierce corpses.. And even if living people were buried, we didn't kill them!"
"Oh?" Jin Zixun snarled, "You didn't kill them? So people just happened to find the castles and buried themselves? That's awfully convenient."
"No.." Nie Huaisang really wanted to cry. Perhaps he already was. "Grave robbers took some of the corpses... The castle killed them, not us.."
"Right, of course we believe you, head-shaker. "
"Chifeng-Zun calls himself righteous, yet he does this behind all of the Clans' backs! Such hypocrisy!"
"Shut up." Jingyi said, because he really wanted them to. He hated Jins, the Little Mistress and his very few friends an exception. "Do you stupid peacocks have nothing else to do? Why are you sticking your nose in the Nie Clan's business?"
The Jins simply turned away with a few tongue-clicks and huffs.