Chapter 59 (1/2)

Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Poisons—Part Four

Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Wei WuXian felt his heart skip a beat, Did he see us? Do we run right now? Or did he not see us?

Suddenly, a thin crying voice came from over the wall. Among the sound of footsteps, a man spoke in a gentle voice, “Don’t cry. Your face is all smeared.”

This voice was familiar to both Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian—it was Wen Chao!

Soon after, w.a.n.g LingJiao sniffed, “Is it that you won’t like me anymore if my face is all smeared?”

Wen Chao, “How could that be? No matter what JiaoJiao looks like, I will like her.”

w.a.n.g LingJiao spoke emotionally, “I’m really so, so scared… Today I really… I was so close to really believing that I’d be killed by that b.i.t.c.h and won’t ever get to see you again… Young Master Wen… I…”

Wen Chao seemed to have embraced her, comforting, “Stop talking, JiaoJiao. It’s alright now. What a good thing that Wen ZhuLiu protected you.”

w.a.n.g LingJiao complained, “You’re still mentioning him?! Wen ZhuLiu, I hate him. If it weren’t for him arriving so late today, I wouldn’t have suffered so much at all. Even now my face still hurts so, so much…”

She clearly was the one who had ordered Wen ZhuLiu not to flash before her sight and caused herself to get beaten up. Now, though, she was turning the matter upside down again. Wen Chao loved listening to her complain in such a pitiful way, “It won’t hurt. Here, let me touch it… You don’t like how slow he was, but you mustn’t challenge his limit. His level of cultivation is really high. My father has said many times that he’s a rare talent. I’m still hoping that I can use him for another few years.”

w.a.n.g LingJiao wasn’t convinced, “So what… So what if he’s a talent? There are so many renowned cultivators, so many talents under Sect Leader Wen, at least thousands. What could happen if he’s gone?”

He was hinting at Wen Chao to punish Wen ZhuLiu for her to feel better. Wen Chao chuckled. Despite how much he cherished w.a.n.g LingJiao, it wasn’t to the point that he’d punish his personal guard for the sake of a woman. After all, Wen ZhuLiu had stopped many attempts at a.s.sa.s.sination for him. He didn’t speak too much either. With such tight lips, he definitely wouldn’t betray his father, which meant that he definitely wouldn’t betray him. A strong yet loyal guard like this was truly rare.

Seeing that he didn’t seem too concerned, w.a.n.g LingJiao added, “Look at him. He’s clearly only a mere subordinate under your command, yet he’s so arrogant. Back then, I wanted to slap that Yu b.i.t.c.h on the face, and he didn’t even let me. She’s dead already—it’s only a corpse! He’s looking down on me, so it means that he’s also looking down on you, doesn’t it?”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t properly cling on to the wall, and so he slid down. Wei WuXian quickly grabbed the back of his lapels.

Both of them had tear-filled eyes. The tears rolled down along their cheeks, splas.h.i.+ng onto the back of their hands and eventually the ground.

Wei WuXian remembered that this morning, when Jiang FengMian left, he had an argument with Madam Yu. The last words that pa.s.sed between them weren’t anything nice or gentle. He wondered if they could look at each other one last time, if Jiang FengMian had the chance to tell Madam Yu one more sentence.

Wen Chao didn’t care for the matter, “That’s just how his personality is, quite odd. It was something along the lines of ‘death over humiliation’. He was the one who killed her, so what was the point of talking about such things?”

w.a.n.g LingJiao agreed, “That’s right. What hypocrisy!”

Wen Chao loved to hear her agree with him. He laughed. w.a.n.g LingJiao gloated, “That b.i.t.c.h Yu, she had it coming. Back then, she forced the man to marry her with the power of her sect. And in the end? What’s the use of their marriage? He still doesn’t like her. She’d been an abandoned wife for over ten years with everyone laughing at her behind her back. Even then she didn’t know to restrain herself and kept on being so arrogant. How it turned out in the end was karma indeed.”

Wen Chao, “Really? Her looks aren’t too bad. Why didn’t Jiang FengMian like her?”

In his knowledge, as long as a woman looked fair, there wasn’t any reason for a man not to like her. Those who should be cast aside were either women who looked average or women who didn’t let him sleep with. w.a.n.g LingJiao answered, “It’s really quite obvious if you think about it. b.i.t.c.hy Yu is so aggressive. She’s clearly a woman yet she brandishes her whip and slaps others all the time. She has no manners at all. Jiang FengMian has been burdened so much even after he married her. He’s the most unlucky man ever.”

Wen Chao, “That’s right! Women, they should all be like my JiaoJiao, obedient and gentle, caring for n.o.body but me.”

w.a.n.g LingJiao giggled. Hearing such unbearably vulgar words, Wei WuXian felt both desolate and enraged, his entire body s.h.i.+vering. He feared that Jiang Cheng would burst out, but perhaps due to the extreme grief, he was so motionless that he seemed to have pa.s.sed out. w.a.n.g LingJiao spoke quietly, “Of course I care for n.o.body but you… Who else could I care for?”

Suddenly, another voice barged in, “Young Master Wen! All of the houses have been searched already. Over two thousand four hundred treasures have been counted. They’re being categorized at the moment.”

Those belonged to Lotus Pier, those belonged to the Jiang Sect!

Wen Chao laughed, “Well done, well done! At such a time, we should have a grand celebration. Tonight, why don’t we set up a banquet here? Make the best use of everything!”

w.a.n.g LingJiao spoke in a tender voice, “Young Master Wen, congratulations for moving into Lotus Pier.”

Wen Chao, “What Lotus Pier? Change the name. Bring down any door carved with the nine-petaled lotus crest and replace them with those with the QishanWen Sect’s sun crest! JiaoJiao, come dance for me your best song!”

Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng couldn’t listen to this any longer. They flipped back down the wall. Stumbling, they staggered out of Lotus Pier. Even after they had run for a long while, the laughter of the crowd at the training field still couldn’t be wiped away. The coquettish voice of a woman sang happily above Lotus Pier. Like a blade doused in poison, it cut into their ears and their hearts again and again and again.

They had been running for over a mile before Jiang Cheng abruptly stopped.

Wei WuXian stopped as well. As Jiang Cheng turned around, Wei WuXian grabbed him, “Jiang Cheng, what are you doing?! Don’t go back there!”

Jiang Cheng shook his hand away, “Don’t go back there?! Are you serious? You’re telling me not to go back there?

My parents’ bodies are still in Lotus Pier—could I leave just like this? Where could I go if I don’t go back?!”

Wei WuXian’s grip tightened, “What could you do if you go back now? They’ve killed even Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu. All that’s waiting for you is death!”

Jiang Cheng shouted, “Death it is, then! If you’re scared of death then get lost—don’t block my path!”

Wei WuXian lunged for him, “Revenge is never too late. We must bring back the bodies but not now!”

Jiang Cheng dodged to the side before attacking, “When does not now mean? I’ve had enough of you—get lost right now!”

Wei WuXian shouted, “Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu said for me to look after you, for you to be well!”

“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng shoved him hard, roaring, “Why?!”

Wei WuXian was pushed into the bushes. Jiang Cheng threw himself over. He grabbed Wei WuXian’s collar and shook, “Why?! Why?! Just why?! Are you happy?! Are you satisfied?!”

He clenched Wei WuXian’s neck, eyes bloodshot, “Why did you save Lan w.a.n.gJi?!”

Under the grief and the fury, Jiang Cheng had lost his mind. He couldn’t control the strength that he used at all. Wei WuXian pulled at his wrist, “Jiang Cheng…”

Holding him on the ground, Jiang Cheng continued to roar, “Why did you save Lan w.a.n.gJi?! Why did you have to speak up?! How many times have I told you not to stir up trouble! Not to strike! Do you really want to play the hero so much?! Have you seen what happened when you played the hero?! Huh?! Are you happy now?!

“Lan w.a.n.gJi and Jin ZiXuan and those people can just die! Just let them die! What’s their deaths got to do with us?! To do with our sect?! Why did this have to happen?! Why?!

“Go die, go die, go die! Everyone!!!”

Wei WuXian’s face had turned red. He shouted, “Jiang Cheng!!!”

The hand around his neck suddenly loosened.

Jiang Cheng glowered at him. Tears rolled down his cheeks. The depths of his throat let out a cry of dying man, a painful sob.

He spoke through tears, “… I want my parents, my parents…”

He was asking Wei WuXian for his father and his mother. Yet, no matter whom he asked, he wouldn’t be able to have them back again.

Wei WuXian was crying as well. The two of them sat collapsed amid the bushes of gra.s.s, watching each other bawl.

In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Dusk-Creek Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn’t saved Lan w.a.n.gJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later. But he had always felt that, if the whole thing with Wei WuXian didn’t happen, maybe it wouldn’t have been so soon, maybe there would’ve been some way to turn things around.

It was this torturing thought that filled his heart with hatred and wrath. Unable to be let out, they cut up his innards.

When the day began to light up, Jiang Cheng had almost numbed.

Throughout the night, he had somehow managed to sleep a couple of times. The first reason was that, having been too tired from crying himself weak, he couldn’t help from pa.s.sing out. The second reason was that he still had the hope that this might be a nightmare. He couldn’t wait to wake up after some rest and open his eyes to find himself lying inside of his room back in Lotus Pier. His father would be wiping his sword in the main hall. His mother would be angry again and complaining, scolding Wei WuXian who winked in a funny way. His sister would be in the kitchen, thinking as hard as she could about what to make today. His s.h.i.+di would be refusing to do their morning lessons properly and jumping around.

Not to wake up in a bush of weeds with his head almost bursting apart, having been through an entire night of cold wind, and discovering that he was still curled up behind a barren little hill.

The first to move was Wei WuXian.

Hands on his legs, he managed to bring himself up. He spoke with a hoa.r.s.e voice, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t move at all. Wei WuXian pulled at him and repeated, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Cheng, “… Go where?”

His throat was dry as well. Wei WuXian replied, “To the MeishanYu Sect. To find s.h.i.+jie.”

Jiang Cheng waved his outstretched hand away. A few moments later, he finally sat up on his own and slowly got up.

The two set off in the direction of Meishan. They went by foot.

Along the way, both of them summoned whatever energy they had left. Their footsteps were heavy, as though they carried with them thousands of pounds.

Jiang Cheng’s head had always been lowered. Hugging his right hand, he pressed Zidian onto his chest where his heart was, feeling over and over again the only remnant of his family that was left. He’d also often looked back toward where Lotus Pier was, staring at what used to be his home and had now become a den of demons. Again and again, it was as though he’d never get enough of it, as though he’d never lose that last spark of hope. However, the tears within his eyes could never be contained either.

They had fled on a hurry, without taking with them any food. From the day before to today, they had spent quite a lot of strength as well. After they had walked for half a day, both of them began to feel dizzy. They left the desolated fields into a small city. Wei WuXian looked at Jiang Cheng. Seeing how tired, unwilling to move that he looked, he spoke, “You can sit. I’ll go find something to eat.”

Jiang Cheng neither answered him nor nodded. Along the way here, he had only said a few words to Wei WuXian.

Wei WuXian told him multiple times not to move before finally walking away. He had often tucked spare money into corners of his clothes, and now it became of use—at least he had money to buy things. Walking around, he bought a bunch of food, especially dried ones to eat on the way. In less than thirty minutes, he quickly returned to where they parted.

However, Jiang Cheng was gone.

Holding steamed buns, flatbreads, and fruits in his hands, Wei WuXian felt his heart skip a beat. He forced himself to calm down. Even after he searched through the neighboring streets, he still didn’t see Jiang Cheng. He finally began to panic. Grabbing a cobbler on the side, he asked, “Mister, there was a young master about the same age as me sitting here. Did you see where he went?”

The cobbler licked the thick end of a thread, “The one that was with you?”

Wei WuXian, “Yeah!”

The cobbler, “I was in the middle of doing something so I didn’t really see. But he kept on s.p.a.cing out, staring at the people on the street. And then when I looked up at where

where he was again, he suddenly disappeared. Maybe he left.”

Wei WuXian murmured, “… He left… He left…”

He probably left for Lotus Pier to steal the bodies!

As though he had gone mad, Wei WuXian sprinted immediately toward the direction that they had come from.

He held in his hands the food that he had just bought, their weight slowing him down. A while later, he left them behind him. After he had run for some distance, however, he began to feel faint and weak, on top of how much he was panicking. As his legs gave out, he collapsed onto the ground.

As he collapsed, his face plummeted into the dirt. He could taste soil within his mouth.

An overwhelming mixture of hatred and helplessness rose from Wei WuXian’s chest. He slammed his fist hard onto the ground and shouted before he finally crawled up. He turned around and ran the other way. After he picked up one of the steamed buns that he had dropped, he wiped it on his clothes before he swallowed it in just a few bites. He chewed as if he was tearing flesh with his teeth. As he gulped, he felt it lump at his throat, creating a dull pain. He picked up a few more and stuffed them inside his lapel. Holding one in his hand, he ate as he ran, hoping that he’d stop Jiang Cheng midway.

However, even until he arrived at Lotus Pier, when the moon and the stars shone in the night sky, he still hadn’t caught sight of Jiang Cheng along his journey.

Wei WuXian stared at the brightly-lit Lotus Pier from afar. Hands on his knees, he panted unstoppably. The taste of blood climbed up his chest and his throat, the kind that occured after an extended period of running. Mouth full of the rusty taste, he felt his sight flash black.

He thought to himself, Why hadn’t I caught up to Jiang Cheng? Even after I ate food this was the fastest I could run. He was more tired than me and he’s going through something worse. How could he have run faster than me? Did he really come back to Lotus Pier? But if he didn’t come back here, where would he go? Go to Meishan alone without me?

After a while of rest, he still decided to go to Lotus Pier to confirm first. Walking along the series of walls, a voice sounded within Wei WuXian’s heart, praying with what was close to despair, This time, please don’t let there be anyone talking about Jiang Cheng’s corpse on the training field. Or else, or else I’ll…

Or else?

Or else what could he do?

He could do nothing. He was powerless. Lotus Pier had been destroyed, both Jiang FengMian and Madam Yu were gone, and Jiang Cheng had disappeared as well. He was the only one left, alone, with not even a sword in his hands. He didn’t know anything, he couldn’t do anything!

For the first time, he discovered how little his power was. In front of something as large as the QishanWen Sect, it was the same as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Wei WuXian’s eyes felt so warm that he was about to tear up again. He turned around the corner when, suddenly, a shadow dressed in the sun-and-flame robes walked toward him.

With the speed of lighting, Wei WuXian had held the person down.

His left hand locked both of the person’s hands while his right closed around their neck. Lowering his voice, he threatened with the most ruthless tone that he could conjure, “Don’t make any noise! Or else I can break your neck at once!”

Held down firmly by him, the person hurried, “Y-Young Master Wei, it’s m-me!”

It was the voice of a boy. Hearing this, Wei WuXian’s first reaction was, Maybe it’s one of the people I know, wearing the Wen Sect’s robes to spy amongst them?

But the voice was completely unfamiliar. He rejected the thought at once and his grip tightened, “Don’t play any tricks!”

The boy, “I… I don’t play any tricks. Young Master Wei, y-you can look at my face.”

Wei WuXian, Look at his face? Maybe he’s hidden something inside his mouth and he’s prepared to spit it out?

Keeping his guard up, he turned the person’s face around. The boy’s features were delicate. A youthful handsomeness surrounded him. This was the young master of the QishanWen Sect whom they had seen when peeking yesterday.

Wei WuXian was indifferent, I don’t know him.