Chapter 4 (1/2)
Wei WuXian’s first thought was that something went wrong with the flag formation that the boys set up.
His inventions needed to be used extremely carefully, or else disasters could happen. This was also why he went to check if there was anything wrong with the motifs that were drawn.
As a few pairs of big hands came to drag him outside, Wei WuXian straightened his body and allowed them to do so without difficulty, so that he wouldn’t have to walk by himself. The East Hall was bustling with people, almost more crowded than when the villagers of Mo Village gathered here. All of the servants and relatives were present. Some were still in their undergarments and didn’t yet have the time to brush their hair, but everyone looked terrified. Madam Mo was collapsed in her seat, as if she just woke up from a swoon. The streaks of tears could be seen on her cheeks, and tears still lingered in her eyes. But, as Wei WuXian was dragged inside, her sorrowful gaze immediately became hateful.
A human-shaped object lay on the ground, with its body covered by a white cloth and only the head being revealed. Lan SiZhui and the other boys wore heavy expressions, bending down to check the situation and talking in soft voices. The conversation leaked into Wei WuXian’s ears.
“… Less than three minutes have passed since the body was discovered?”
“After subduing the walking corpse, we hurried from the West Courtyard to the East Courtyard, and found the corpse by the hallway.”
The human-shaped thing was, apparently, Mo ZiYuan. Wei WuXian took one glance at it, and couldn’t help but to look again.
The corpse looked like Mo ZiYuan in some ways, but unlike him in other ways. Although the features were clearly that of his petty cousin’s, the cheekbones were deeply sunken, eyes bulging, and skin wrinkled. Compared to the youthful Mo ZiYuan before this, it was as if he aged twenty years. It also seemed like his blood and flesh were sucked out of him, turning him into a skeleton with only a thin layer of skin on the outside. If, before this, Mo ZiYuan was just ugly, now, his corpse was both old and ugly.
As Wei WuXian was scrutinizing the corpse, Madam Mo suddenly rushed towards him, with a gleaming dagger in her hand. Being light on his feet, Lan SiZhui quickly knocked the dagger off. Before he had a chance to talk, Madam Mo shrieked at him, “My son died a tragic death, so I am only avenging him! What are you stopping me for?”
Wei WuXian hid behind Lan SiZhui’s back again, and spoke while squatting, “How does your son’s tragic death concern me?”
During the day, Lan SiZhui saw Wei WuXian make a scene in the East Hall, and, afterwards, he also heard a lot of exaggerated rumours from other people. He felt extremely sympathetic to the invalid, and couldn’t help but to take his side, “Madam Mo, seeing from your son’s condition, his flesh and essence have been drawn out of him, which means that he was killed by evil beings, not him.”
Madam Mo’s chest heaved, “You know nothing! The lunatic’s father was a cultivator. He must have learned a lot of demonic spells from him!”
Lan SiZhui turned around to look at the seemingly dull-witted Wei WuXian, and spoke again, “Uhm, Madam, there is a lack of evidence, so…”
“The evidence is on my son!” Madam Mo pointed at the corpse on the ground, “Look for yourselves! A-Yuan’s remains already told me who murdered him!”
Not needing other people to do it, Wei WuXian lifted the white cloth by himself, from the head down to the feet. There was something missing on Mo ZiYuan’s dead body.
His left arm, severed from below his shoulder, had disappeared!
Madam Mo spoke, “Do you see this? Everyone who were here heard what the lunatic said, right? He said that, if A-Yuan touched his belongings again, he would cut off his hand!”
After the burst of emotion, she covered her face and sobbed, “… My poor A-Yuan… Although he didn’t do anything to him at all, he was not only framed, but also killed as well… The lunatic is out of his mind…”
Out of his mind!
It had been a few years since he last heard the phrase being used to describe him, so it was quite cordial. Wei WuXian pointed at himself, but no words came to him. He didn’t know if he was the ill one or if it was Madam Mo.
When he was younger, he talked quite a lot about exterminating entire families and clans, killing millions of people, creating rivers of blood, and other cruel actions. But, most of the time, they were empty words. If he could actually do the things that he said, he would have long been dominating the cultivation world. Madam Mo’s true intention wasn’t to avenge for him, but to find someone to let out her resentment on.
Wu WuXian didn’t want to be bothered with her. He thought for a moment, and stuck his hand into Mo ZiYuan’s arms. He fished around for a moment and pulled something out, unfolding it in front of him. Surprisingly, it was a Phantom Attraction Flag.
Instantly, he realized what was going on, and uttered under his breath, he had it coming!
When Lan SiZhui and the others saw what was taken out of Mo ZiYuan’s arms, they also understood the situation. Associating this with the farce that happened today, the cause was easy to guess. During the day, Mo ZiYuan lost face because of Mo XuanYu’s crazy behavior and loathed him, still wanting to square up with him. However, Mo XuanYu wandered outside for a long while, so Mo ZiYuan planned to sneak up on him at night, when he would be returning.
When night had fallen, he secretly went outside, and was passing the West Courtyard when he saw the Phantom Attraction Flags on the walls. Although he was repeatedly told not to go outside or near the West Courtyard at night, and especially to stay away from these black flags, Mo ZiYuan thought that he was told to do so because they were scared of people stealing the valuable weapons.