Wei Wuxian lay awake for the entire night, spending the first half pondering what had happened to Lan Wangji over the years, and only falling into a drowsy sleep in the latter half. The next morning, when he opened his eyes, Lan Wangji was nowhere to be seen, and he found himself lying properly on the bed, hands at his sides, arranged in a well-behaved posture.
Wei Wuxian threw off the blanket covering him, burying his right hand's fingers in his hair, the absurd and eerie feeling in his heart still refusing to dissipate.
At this moment, there was a gentle knock on the wooden door of the quiet room, and Lan Sizhui's voice sounded from outside: "Young Master Mo? Are you awake?"
Wei Wuxian: "Why are you calling me so early?!"
Lan Sizhui: "Ear-early? ...But, it's already 9 AM..."
The Lan family members all rose at 5 AM and rested at 9 PM, extremely regular. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, rose at 9 AM and rested at 1 AM, also very regular, exactly two hours later than their family. He had been lying awake for half the night, his back and waist aching, and he said straightforwardly, "I can't get up."
Lan Sizhui said, "Uh, what's wrong now?"
Wei Wuxian said, "What's wrong? I've been slept with by your Hanguang-jun!"
Lan Jingyi's voice also rang out fiercely: "If you keep talking nonsense, we won't let you off. Come out!"
Wei Wuxian complained wrongfully, "It's true! He slept with me all night! I'm not coming out, I can't face anyone!"
The young disciples outside looked at each other in bewilderment. No one could enter Hanguang-jun's residence casually, and they were at a loss, unable to directly go in and drag him out. Lan Jingyi angrily said, "How shameless! Hanguang-jun isn't even interested in men, he slept with you?! You should thank the heavens he didn't sleep you instead. Get up! Take your donkey away and treat it properly, it's making too much noise!"
Mentioning his mount, Wei Wuxian quickly scrambled up: "What did you do to my Little Apple?! Don't touch it, it might kick you."
Lan Jingyi said, "What's Little Apple?"
Wei Wuxian said, "My donkey!" He left the quiet room, urging the young disciples to take him to find his mount. They led him to a patch of green grass where the spotted donkey was indeed braying non-stop, causing a commotion. The reason for its braying was that it wanted to eat grass, but the grass patch was occupied by dozens of rolling white fluffy balls, preventing it from getting to the grass.
Wei Wuxian exclaimed happily, "So many rabbits! Come on, let's skewer them and roast them!"
Lan Jingyi was fuming, "Killing is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses! Hurry up and make it shut up, the early readers have come to ask several times already! If this continues, we'll be scolded to death!"
Wei Wuxian gave it the apple from the breakfast they had brought him, and sure enough, the spotted donkey stopped braying as soon as it started munching on the apple, its jaws moving with crunching sounds. While stroking its neck, Wei Wuxian was eyeing the jade tokens on the young disciples' bodies and pointing at the round white rabbits all over the ground, saying, "Really can't roast them? Will I be kicked out of the mountain if I do?"
Lan Jingyi, as if facing a great enemy, hurriedly spread his arms to block him, saying, "These are raised by Hanguang-jun, we just help look after them occasionally. Don't you dare roast them!"
Hearing this, Wei Wuxian almost fell to the ground laughing, thinking to himself: "Lan Zhan is really something! He wouldn't take them when I gave them to him before, but now he's secretly raising a whole bunch. Still saying he doesn't want them, who is he fooling? Mercy, he actually likes these white fluffy little things in secret! Hanguang-jun holding a rabbit with a straight face, oh my goodness, I can't take it..."
But then, thinking back to the scene of him lying on top of Lan Wangji last night, he suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
Just then, from the west side of the Cloud Recesses, a series of bell sounds rang out.
These bell sounds were completely different from the time-telling bells, urgent and intense, as if a madman had gone berserk and was striking them. Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui's faces changed dramatically, no longer in the mood to joke with him, and they ran off, leaving him behind. Wei Wuxian sensed something was amiss and quickly followed.
The bell sounds were coming from a corner tower.
This corner tower was called the "Dark Room," its walls made of special materials inscribed with spells, a building specifically used by the Lan family for soul summoning. When the bells on the corner tower started ringing on their own, it meant one thing had happened: the person conducting the soul summoning ritual inside had encountered an accident.
Outside the corner tower, more and more Lan family disciples and students gathered, but no one dared to enter rashly. The door of the Dark Room was a black wooden door, firmly locked, which could only be opened from the inside. Forcibly breaking in from the outside was not only difficult but also against taboos. An accident during a soul summoning ritual was a terrifying thing because no one knew exactly what might be summoned, or what might happen if someone rushed in recklessly. And since the establishment of the Dark Room, there had almost never been a case of a failed soul summoning, which made people even more anxious.
Wei Wuxian noticed that Lan Wangji hadn't appeared and had a bad feeling. If Lan Wangji were still in the Cloud Recesses, he should have rushed over immediately upon hearing the alarm bells, unless... Suddenly, the black door burst open with a bang, and a white-robed disciple stumbled out.
He lost his footing and tumbled down the steps as soon as he came out. The door of the Dark Room immediately closed automatically, as if someone had angrily slammed it shut.
Others hurriedly rushed to help the disciple up. Once on his feet, he immediately collapsed again, uncontrollably weeping, grabbing onto people and saying, "Shouldn't have... shouldn't have summoned..."
Wei Wuxian grabbed his hand and said in a deep voice, "What soul were you trying to summon? Who else is still inside? Where's Hanguang-jun?!"
The disciple seemed to be having great difficulty breathing and opened his mouth to say, "Hanguang-jun, let me escape..."
Before he could finish speaking, bright red blood gushed out from his nose and mouth. Wei Wuxian pushed him into Lan Sizhui's arms. The roughly made bamboo flute was still tucked at his waist. He took two steps up several stairs, kicked the door of the Dark Room, and shouted sternly, "Open!"
The door of the Dark Room opened suddenly, as if laughing wildly. Wei Wuxian immediately flashed inside. The door closed tightly behind him. Several disciples were greatly alarmed and rushed up as well, but the door wouldn't open no matter what. A guest cultivator threw himself at the door, both shocked and angry, blurting out, "Who on earth was that just now?!"
Lan Sizhui, supporting the disciple, gritted his teeth and said, "...Come help me first. He's bleeding from all seven orifices!"
As soon as Wei Wuxian entered the Dark Room, he felt a wave of oppressive dark energy rushing towards him.
This dark energy seemed to be a mixture of resentment, anger, and madness, almost visible to the naked eye. Surrounded by it, one's chest felt compressed and vaguely painful. The interior of the Dark Room was over thirty feet in length and width, with several people collapsed unconsciously in the four corners. In the center of the floor's formation stood the target of this soul summoning.
It was nothing but an arm. The very one brought back from Mo Village!
It stood rigidly like a stick, with the cut end on the ground, four fingers clenched into a fist and the index finger pointing skyward, as if angrily accusing someone. The endless dark energy filling the entire Dark Room was emanating from it.
Among those participating in the soul summoning ritual, some had fled, some had collapsed, only Lan Wangji still sat upright in the main position to the east.
A guqin lay horizontally beside him. Though his hands were not on the strings, they continued to vibrate and hum on their own. He seemed to have been deep in thought, or perhaps concentrating on listening to something, only raising his head when he sensed someone intruding.
Lan Wangji's face was always impassive, and Wei Wuxian couldn't discern his thoughts. Lan Qiren, who had been presiding over the ritual, was now slumped to one side, like the disciple who had escaped from the Dark Room, bleeding from all seven orifices and completely unconscious. Wei Wuxian took his place, spinning to stand in the western position, pulling out the bamboo flute from his waist and raising it to his lips, facing Lan Wangji from afar.
On that night in Mo Village, Wei Wuxian had first interfered with his whistle, and Lan Wangji had countered from afar with his zither music. The two had unintentionally joined forces to subdue this arm. Lan Wangji's eyes met his, understanding. His right hand rose, and a string of notes flowed out. Wei Wuxian immediately harmonized with his flute.
The piece they were playing was called "Summoning the Soul." Using the corpse, a part of the corpse, or a beloved object of the deceased as a medium, it would guide the departed soul to follow the music. Usually, just one section would be enough to see the spirit's form appear in the formation. However, as they neared the end of the piece, no soul had been summoned.
The arm seemed to become angry, its veins bulging all over, and the oppressive feeling in the air intensified. If anyone else had been guarding the western position at this moment, they would not have escaped the fate of Lan Qiren, bleeding from seven orifices, and would have collapsed long ago. Wei Wuxian was secretly alarmed: even with him and Lan Wangji playing "Summoning the Soul" together, they couldn't summon the spirit. This was almost impossible unless... unless this deceased person's soul had been severed along with his body!
It seemed this poor fellow was slightly worse off than him. Although his corpse had been rather mangled back then, at least his soul had remained intact.
With "Summoning the Soul" failing, Lan Wangji's fingers changed tune, starting to play another piece.
This piece was completely different from the eerie, questioning tone of the previous one. It was peaceful and tranquil, titled "Rest in Peace." Both these pieces were widely known in the cultivation world, and it wasn't surprising for anyone to be able to play them. Wei Wuxian naturally followed along.
The Ghost Flute of the Yiling Patriarch, named "Chen Qing," was renowned far and wide. Now, as he accompanied with his bamboo flute, he deliberately played with many mistakes and insufficient breath, making it unbearable to listen to. Lan Wangji, who had probably never played with someone so terrible before, continued for a while but finally couldn't pretend nothing was wrong anymore. He looked up at Wei Wuxian, expressionless.
Wei Wuxian shamelessly pretended not to notice, his melody straying further and further. He turned around, about to continue playing, when suddenly there was a strange occurrence behind him. He looked back and was immediately startled. The previously unconscious Lan Qiren had sat up straight, with a face bleeding and smoking from seven orifices. His beard, voice, and the hand pointing at Wei Wuxian were all trembling as he shouted hoarsely, "Stop playing! Get out! Get out quickly! Don't you dare—"
What exactly he didn't dare to do was left unsaid as Lan Qiren spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed back down, once again falling into a comatose state.
Lan Wangji: "..."
Wei Wuxian was dumbfounded.
He knew what Lan Qiren was going to say after "don't you dare": Don't you dare play anymore! Don't you dare accompany! Don't you dare taint the zither music of his beloved disciple Wangji!
Their duet of zither and flute had actually shocked Lan Qiren awake and then immediately shocked him unconscious again, showing just how terribly they had played...
However, even so, the arm slowly lowered under the combined suppression of the flute and zither. Wei Wuxian thought shamelessly, terrible as it might sound, as long as it works.
As the last string resonance faded, the door of the Dark Room suddenly sprang open, and daylight poured in. The warning bells on the corner tower must have stopped ringing, and the disciples who had been gathered outside the Dark Room all rushed in, immediately calling out "Hanguang-jun" in unison.
Lan Wangji pressed his hand on the strings, stopping the lingering hum of the zither, and stood up to check Lan Qiren's pulse. With him taking the lead, the others quickly calmed down. The older cultivators laid flat those who were bleeding from seven orifices and began treatment. While they were applying acupuncture and administering medicine, another group of disciples brought in a bronze bell, intending to cover the arm with it. Although busy, the scene was orderly, with everyone speaking in hushed tones, no one making any loud or disturbing noises.
Several people worriedly said, "Hanguang-jun, the pills and acupuncture are ineffective. What should we do?"
Lan Wangji, with three fingers still on Lan Qiren's pulse, frowned silently. Lan Qiren had presided over hundreds, if not thousands, of soul summoning rituals, including many fierce ghosts and violent spirits. For even him to be injured by the backlash of resentful energy showed just how terrifying the resentment of this ghost hand was, unprecedented indeed.
Wei Wuxian tucked the bamboo flute back into his waist and crouched down beside the bronze bell, caressing the inscriptions on it, lost in thought. Suddenly, he noticed Lan Sizhui's gloomy expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lan Sizhui, knowing that Wei Wuxian was no ordinary person, hesitated slightly before saying in a low voice, "Just feeling a bit guilty."
Wei Wuxian asked, "Guilty about what?"
Lan Sizhui said, "This ghost hand, it's coming for us."
Wei Wuxian smiled and said, "How do you know?"
Lan Sizhui explained, "Different grades of spirit-attracting flags have different designs and powers. The spirit-attracting flags we drew in Mo Village only had an effective range of about two and a half miles. But this ghost hand has a very heavy killing intent and feeds on human flesh and blood. If it had been within that range from the beginning, given its ferocity, Mo Village would have been a bloodbath long ago. However, it only appeared suddenly after we arrived... This means it must have been deliberately placed there at that time by someone with malicious intent."
Wei Wuxian said, "Your studies are quite solid. Good analysis."
Lan Sizhui lowered his head and said, "If so, we might... also be responsible for those lives lost in Mo Village... And now, we've even caused Senior Lan and the others to fall into unconsciousness..."
After a moment of silence, Wei Wuxian patted his shoulder and said, "The ones responsible aren't you, but the person who released the ghost hand. Some things in this world are simply beyond our control."
On the other side, Lan Wangji withdrew his hand, and the Lan family members hurriedly asked, "Hanguang-jun, how is it?"
Lan Wangji said, "Trace to the source."
Wei Wuxian said, "That's right. Trace to the source, find the complete corpse of this ghost hand, clarify his identity, and naturally, there will be a way to save people."
Although Lan Jingyi already knew that Wei Wuxian wasn't a madman, he still couldn't help but speak to him in an accusatory tone, "You make it sound so simple. The soul summoning failed, things have become such a mess, where are we supposed to look?"
Lan Wangji said, "Northwest."
Lan Sizhui asked curiously, "Northwest? Hanguang-jun, why northwest?"
Wei Wuxian said, "Hasn't it already been pointed out to you?"
Lan Jingyi asked in confusion, "Pointed out to us? Who? Who pointed it out? Hanguang-jun didn't point anything."
Wei Wuxian said, "It did."
Only then did everyone realize that he was referring to the ghost hand!
The arm was pointing steadily in one direction. When someone tried to change its position, it stubbornly turned back, resuming its original direction. The crowd had never seen such a situation and was shocked. Lan Jingyi said, "It? It... What is it pointing at?!"
Wei Wuxian said, "What else could it be pointing at? Either the other parts of his corpse, or the culprit who made him like this."
Hearing this, several young men who happened to be standing in the northwest direction quickly moved away. Lan Wangji glanced at Wei Wuxian, slowly stood up, and said to the disciples, "Take care of Uncle."
Those people nodded and said, "Yes! Are you going down the mountain now?"
Lan Wangji gave a slight nod, and Wei Wuxian had already sneakily sidled up behind him, happily saying loudly to himself, "Great, great, great, finally we can elope down the mountain!"
Everyone's faces showed an expression of unbearable pain, the older disciples especially horrified, while the younger ones were somewhat used to it by now. Only Lan Qiren, lying on the ground, seemed to twitch unconsciously again, and everyone thought, "If this person says a few more words, maybe he'll shock Senior Lan awake again..."