Wind Evil

His lips trembled faintly, silently mouthing a few words. Jiang Cheng nearly stood up on the spot.

It's Wei Wuxian!

But aside from that face, this person, from head to toe, bore not a single resemblance to the Wei Wuxian of old.

Wei Wuxian had plainly been a radiant, dashingly handsome young man, laughter brimming at the corners of his eyes and brows, never once content to walk properly. Yet this person was shrouded entirely in a chilled, gloomy aura — still handsome but pallid, his smile laced with nothing but grimness.

The scene before them was far too unexpected; moreover, with the situation unclear and rash action inadvisable, even though both on the rooftop were utterly shocked, neither rushed in recklessly — they only pressed their heads lower, nearer to the gaps between the tiles.

Inside the room, Wei Wuxian, clad all in black, turned slowly around. Wen Chao, covering his own face, had barely any voice left: 'Wen Zhuliu... Wen Zhuliu!'

At the sound, Wei Wuxian's eyes and lips gradually curved upward. 'Up to this day, do you still believe calling him will do any good?'

He took a few steps in this direction, his foot kicking something pale and white. He looked down — it was precisely the meat bun Wen Chao had flung away earlier.

Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow. 'What, picky eater?'

Wen Chao toppled off his stool, howling heart-wrenchingly: 'I won't eat it! I won't! I won't!'

All the while he howled like a ghost, he crawled across the floor with his fingerless hands. The floor-length black cloak slipped down his lower body, exposing his two legs. They hung beneath him like burdensome ornaments, wrapped thick in bandages and abnormally thin. Due to his violent movements, gaps opened between the bandages, revealing the ghastly white bones beneath, still threaded with bright red streaks of blood and shreds of flesh.

The flesh on his legs had been carved off — alive. And, I'm afraid... all that flesh, he had eaten himself!

Wen Chao's piercing shrieks echoed through the empty relay station. Wei Wuxian, as if he hadn't heard, lightly lifted the hem of his robe and sat down at another table.

A second oil lamp flickered to life. Before the bright yellow flame, Wei Wuxian's face was half in light, half in shadow. He lowered his hand, and a deathly pale face emerged from the darkness under the table. From beneath that table came the sound of crunching, gnawing chewing.

A small, white child crouched at his feet, like a carnivorous beast, gnawing on something Wei Wuxian was feeding him.

Wei Wuxian drew back his hand and patted the sparse-haired head of this white ghost-child lightly twice. The ghost-child, still gripping the offered morsel in its mouth, turned around, sat down by his feet, wrapped its arms around his calf, and, while continuing to chew fiercely, fixed Wen Zhuliu with a pair of coldly gleaming eyes.

What it chewed in its mouth were two human fingers.

No need for many words — they could only be Wen Chao's fingers!

Lan Wangji stared at that sinisterly eerie ghost-child, and at Wei Wuxian, equally eerie, and tightened his grip on Bichen's hilt.

Wen Zhuliu still shielded Wen Chao with his body. Wei Wuxian, head lowered and expression unreadable, said: 'Wen Zhuliu, do you truly believe you can preserve his wretched life under my hand?'

Wen Zhuliu said: 'A desperate attempt even at the cost of my life.'

Wei Wuxian laughed coldly. 'Such a loyal Wen dog.'

Wen Zhuliu said: 'A debt of appreciation for recognition — one cannot not repay it.'

Wei Wuxian's tone and expression turned abruptly fierce, and he barked: 'Ridiculous! Why must others pay the price for your so-called debt of recognition!'

The words had barely fallen when a shrill wail from Wen Chao rose behind Wen Zhuliu. Wen Chao scrambled to the corner, desperately pressing himself into the wooden boards as if he believed he could squeeze himself out through the crevices. But then, with a sharp slap, a mass of red plummeted from the ceiling — a long-haired woman in red, her face a ghastly green, crashing heavily upon him. The woman's livid face, her vivid crimson robes, and her jet-black hair formed a piercing, horrifying contrast. Her ten fingers seized the bandages on Wen Chao's head and ripped them off with one brutal yank!

These bandages had just been freshly re-wrapped by Wen Zhuliu after applying medicine to Wen Chao; the ointment, skin, and gauze were all stuck together. Skin burned by fire is already extremely fragile, and with such a violent tear, in an instant, the not-yet-peeled scabs and the exceptionally thin flesh came off together — even his lips were torn away. A lumpy, bald head transformed in a flash into a bloody, mangled bald head.

Wen Chao fainted on the spot. The instant his scream was heard, Wen Zhuliu whirled around to rescue him; on the rooftop, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng likewise tightened their grips on their swords, ready to strike. But then came a shriek — the ghost-child at Wei Wuxian's feet had already lunged. Wen Zhuliu's right palm shot out, striking the ghost-child squarely on the forehead, yet a piercing pain shot through his hand; the ghost-child had opened its double rows of sharp teeth and bitten down on him. Unable to shake it off with force, Wen Zhuliu ignored it and went straight to save Wen Chao. But the ghost-child tore off a huge chunk of flesh from his palm, spat it out, and continued gnawing its way up his hand. Wen Zhuliu's left hand grabbed the ghost-child's head, as if to burst this icy little skull bare-handed, but the woman with the iron-blue face threw the blood-soaked bandages to the ground and, like a four-legged creature, crawled to Wen Zhuliu in an instant. With a wave of her hand, she left ten bloody gouges. One large, one small — two yin-cursed entities swarmed him, biting and tangling without cease. Wen Zhuliu, distracted on one side and unable to tend to the other, was flustered and utterly disheveled. Turning his head and catching Wei Wuxian watching with a cold sneer, he suddenly lunged at him.

Both rooftop figures stiffened in alarm. Lan Wangji struck down with his palm; tiles shattered and the roof collapsed, and he dropped from the eaves onto the second floor of the relay station, placing himself between Wen Zhuliu and Wei Wuxian. Wen Zhuliu froze — in that moment, a long whip swirling with purple lightning hurtled in fiercely, coiling around his neck, whipping thrice around with a whoosh, then yanked upward. Wen Zhuliu's tall, heavy frame was hoisted by this lightning-laced whip, suspended in midair, and on the spot came the cracking sound of neck bones snapping. At the same time, Wei Wuxian's pupils contracted; he drew a flute from his waist, spun to his feet, and the ghost-child and the green-faced woman, who had been tearing at Wen Zhuliu, swiftly retreated to his sides, watching the two unfamiliar newcomers warily.

Behind them, Wen Zhuliu had not yet died instantly — his face flushed crimson, his whole body convulsing, still struggling without cease, eyes wide, the eyeballs nearly bursting from their sockets. The ghost-child bared its fangs unceasingly at Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng, hostility fully displayed. Wei Wuxian raised a hand slightly, making it retract its fangs, his gaze shifting back and forth between Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng. Among the three, not one spoke first.

After a long while, Jiang Cheng swung his arm and flung something over. Without thinking, Wei Wuxian raised his hand and caught it. Jiang Cheng said: 'Your sword!'

Wei Wuxian's hand slowly descended.

He looked down at Suibian, paused a beat, and then said: '...Thank you.'

Another long silence, then suddenly Jiang Cheng stepped forward, clapped him on the shoulder, and said: 'You brat! These three months — where on earth did you run off to!'

Though spoken as a rebuke, his tone was brimming with wild joy. Though Lan Wangji had not stepped forward, his gaze remained fixed unwaveringly on Wei Wuxian. Stunned by Jiang Cheng's clap, Wei Wuxian, after a moment, clapped him right back, saying: 'Haha, a long story — far too long to tell!'

The cold, gloomy air around him just now was considerably diluted by those two claps. Jiang Cheng, anger mingling with his joy, hugged him tightly for a moment, then shoved him away violently, roaring: 'Didn't we agree to meet up at that broken town at the foot of the mountain? I waited five, six days and didn't see so much as your ghost! If you're going to die, don't die out of my sight! These three months I've been run off my feet!'

Wei Wuxian flicked the hem of his robe and sat down again at the table, waving a hand dismissively: 'I told you, a long story. A pack of Wen dogs were also digging three feet into the ground looking for me, caught me right there, and tossed me into some cursed place to mess around.'

As he spoke, the green-faced woman crawled toward him on all fours. Moments before, her face had been hideously twisted as she tore and fought; but now, nestling beside Wei Wuxian, she pressed that greenish face against his thigh, appearing quite like a ravishingly alluring favored concubine, obediently currying her master's favor, and even emitting soft, tittering laughter from her mouth. Wei Wuxian sat slantwise at the table, his right hand stroking her smooth long hair in slow, even strokes. Watching his movements, Lan Wangji's expression grew colder and colder. Although the image made Jiang Cheng somewhat uncomfortable, he was even more dumbfounded, asking: 'What cursed place? I painstakingly questioned and interrogated everyone in town, and they all said they had never once seen you!'

Wei Wuxian said: 'You asked the people in that town? They're all just country bumpkins who haven't seen much of the world. Afraid of stirring up trouble, who would dare tell you the truth? Besides, the Wen dogs definitely took measures to seal their mouths — of course they all said they'd never seen me.'

Jiang Cheng cursed: 'A pack of old bastards!' and pressed on: 'What cursed place? Qishan? Nightless City? And how did you get out? And turned into this — those... two things, what are they? They actually obey you. Before, Lan-er-gongzi and I took on the mission to ambush and kill Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu, but someone beat us to it — I never thought it would be you! Were those talismans altered by you too?'

Wei Wuxian, catching from the corner of his eye that Lan Wangji had been watching them all along, smiled faintly and said: 'More or less. I could say I discovered a mysterious cave somewhere, with mysterious scriptures left behind by a mysterious master, and then became like this and came out slaughtering in all directions — would you believe me?'

Jiang Cheng spat: 'Wake up, you've been reading too many heroic tales. Since when is the world full of hidden masters, and every inch of ground hiding secret caves and secret manuals!'

Wei Wuxian spread his hands: 'See, you don't believe it when I tell you. I'll tell you slowly when I have the chance later.'

Jiang Cheng glanced at Lan Wangji, aware that this was probably something not convenient to discuss before an outsider disciple. He reined in his delight and said: 'Fine. Tell me later. What matters is you're back.'

Wei Wuxian said: 'Mn. What matters is I'm back.'

Jiang Cheng murmured 'What matters is you're back' a few times to himself, then suddenly clapped him again: 'You really...! Captured by Wen dogs and yet you still didn't die!'

Wei Wuxian said smugly: 'Of course. Who am I?'

Jiang Cheng couldn't help cursing: 'What are you so smug about! You didn't die and yet you didn't come back sooner!'

Wei Wuxian said: 'Didn't I just get out? When I heard that you and shijie were both well, and that you were busy rebuilding Yunmeng Jiang Clan and forming alliances for battle, I went and killed a few Wen dogs first to lighten your burden, make a little contribution. These three months, you've worked hard.'

Hearing that last sentence, Jiang Cheng seemed to recall the arduous toil of the past three months, the nights turned into days, and was slightly moved. Immediately, he suppressed it and said roughly: 'Put this broken sword of yours away properly! I was just waiting for you to come back and take it away — I don't want to carry two swords every day and be endlessly questioned by everyone!'

Lan Wangji suddenly said: 'Wei Ying.'

He had been standing silently to the side until now, and when he suddenly spoke, both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng turned toward him. Wei Wuxian, as if only just recalling that he should greet him, inclined his head slightly and said: 'Hanguang-jun.'

Lan Wangji said: 'The one who killed the Wen clan disciples along the way — was it you.'

Wei Wuxian said: 'Of course.'

Jiang Cheng said: 'I knew it was you too. Why only kill one at a time — so much trouble.'

Wei Wuxian said: 'For fun, of course. Play them to death. Wiping them all out at once would be too cheap. Kill them one by one for all to see, cut them slowly, knife by knife. As for Wen Chao, needless to say, I haven't tormented him enough. As for this Wen Zhuliu — he received the grace of Wen Ruohan's patronage, changed his surname to join the Wen clan, and was ordered to protect Wen Ruohan's precious son.' He sneered: 'He wants to protect him — I insist on making him watch as Wen Chao, in his very hands, bit by bit becomes utterly unrecognizable, turns neither human nor ghost.'

This smile was three parts cold, three parts cruel, three parts pleasure. Lan Wangji, seeing his expression with absolute clarity, stepped forward and said: 'What method are you using to control these yin-fiend creatures?'

The curve of Wei Wuxian's lips fell sharply, and he glanced askance at him. Jiang Cheng, too, caught the discordant note and said: 'Lan-er-gongzi, what is the meaning of that question.'

Lan Wangji stared fixedly at Wei Wuxian and said: 'Answer.'

The ghost-child and the green-faced woman grew restless. Wei Wuxian glanced back at them, and they reluctantly, unwillingly retreated slowly, disappearing into the darkness. Only then did Wei Wuxian turn to Lan Wangji, raising an eyebrow: 'May I ask... what will happen if I don't answer?'

Suddenly, he dodged aside, evading a sudden grab from Lan Wangji, and retreated three steps: 'Lan Zhan, we've just reunited after a long separation, and you're already striking out to seize me — isn't that a bit much?'

Lan Wangji used hands, not words; Wei Wuxian countered every move, both of them swift beyond compare. After knocking his hand aside a third time, Wei Wuxian said: 'I'd thought we should at least count as acquaintances. For you to start a fight at the least disagreement — isn't that a bit heartless?'

Lan Wangji said: 'Answer!'

Jiang Cheng blocked between the two of them: 'Lan-er-gongzi!'

Wei Wuxian said: 'Lan-er-gongzi, what you're asking is truly hard to explain clearly in a short time. And it's quite strange. If I were to press you on the secret techniques of the Gusu Lan clan, would you answer me?'

Lan Wangji bypassed Jiang Cheng and came straight for him. Wei Wuxian held his flute horizontally before him and said: 'Isn't this too much? Why be so merciless? Lan Zhan, what exactly do you want?'

Lan Wangji enunciated each word: 'Come back to Gusu with me.'

Hearing this, both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were taken aback.

After a moment, Wei Wuxian laughed: 'Go back to Gusu with you? Cloud Recesses? What would I do there?'

He then suddenly understood: 'Oh. I forgot — your uncle, Lan Qiren, detests heretical outsiders like me the most. And you, as his prized student, naturally feel the same. Haha. I refuse.'

Jiang Cheng stared warily at Lan Wangji: 'Lan-er-gongzi, we are all aware of the Lan clan's family principles. But at the bottom of the Cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter on Muxi Mountain before, Wei Wuxian once saved your life, and even more shared a bond of common hardship. Now, without the slightest consideration, you come forward to bring him to account — that is rather unfeeling.'

Wei Wuxian looked at him: 'Not bad — with the bearing of a clan leader.'

Jiang Cheng: 'Shut up.'

Lan Wangji said: 'It is not to bring him to account.'

Jiang Cheng said: 'Then what do you want him to go back to Gusu with you for? Lan-er-gongzi, at this juncture, should your Gusu Lan clan not be uniting to kill Wen dogs, instead of clinging to those rigid dogmas?'

Outnumbered two to one, Lan Wangji still did not retreat, staring firmly at Wei Wuxian: 'Wei Ying, cultivating the crooked path will exact a price in the end — throughout history, there are no exceptions.'

Wei Wuxian said: 'I can afford it.'

Seeing his utterly indifferent expression, Lan Wangji said in a deep voice: 'This path harms the body, and even more the heart and nature.'

Wei Wuxian said: 'Whether it harms the body, and how much — I know best. As for my heart and nature, my heart is my own master; I have my own measure.'

Lan Wangji said: 'There are some things you simply cannot control.'

A flash of displeasure crossed Wei Wuxian's face: 'Of course I can control it.'

Lan Wangji took a step closer, about to speak again, but Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes and said: 'In the end, what do others know of my heart? And what business is it of others?'

Lan Wangji froze for a moment, then suddenly burst out in anger: '...Wei Wuxian!'

Wei Wuxian also raged: 'Lan Wangji! Must you cross me at this critical moment? Want me to go to Cloud Recesses and suffer confinement by your Gusu Lan clan? Who do you think you are, and who do you think your Gusu Lan clan is? Do you really think I won't resist?!'

A sudden fierce hostility flared between the two. Lan Wangji's hand on Bichen's hilt turned white at the knuckles. Jiang Cheng said coldly: 'Lan-er-gongzi, now that the Wen chaos has yet to be quelled, it is a time when fighting strength is most desperately needed. Everyone is barely managing their own affairs — why must the hand of Gusu Lan reach so far? Wei Wuxian stands on our side — do you intend to punish one of our own?'

Wei Wuxian's expression eased: 'Exactly. As long as it's Wen dogs being killed, what does it matter how I kill them?'

The two of them had been able to play off each other since childhood; now, one line after another, they were watertight. Jiang Cheng added: 'Don't blame me, Jiang, for speaking bluntly — even if an investigation is called for, Wei Wuxian is not a member of your clan; it is not the place of Gusu Lan to punish him. He would not go back with anyone, nor would he go back with you.'

Hearing this, Lan Wangji's expression stiffened. He raised his eyes to look at Wei Wuxian, his throat quivering: 'I...'

Before he could finish, a weak, thin wail came from Wen Chao in the corner. Wei Wuxian's and Jiang Cheng's attention immediately shifted. As if by unspoken agreement, they both skirted around Lan Wangji and came before Wen Zhuliu and Wen Chao. Wen Zhuliu, suspended by Zidian, still struggled in excruciating agony. Wen Chao, half-dead, slowly lifted his eyelids, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the two faces looming above him, looking down.

These two faces were equally young, equally familiar — both had once displayed before him expressions of despair, of agony, of bone-deep hatred. Yet at this very moment, their faces looking down from on high bore the same grim sneer, the same icy gleam in their eyes.

Wen Chao neither screamed nor fled anymore; he just stared blankly, cradling his fingerless hands, drooling. Wei Wuxian gave him a kick, forcing him into a kneeling posture facing the direction of Yunmeng. Exposed bone and flesh scraped against each other, making Wen Chao let out shrill, agonized cries that were piercing in the empty relay station. Jiang Cheng said: 'Why is his voice so high-pitched?'

Wei Wuxian said: 'Missing one thing naturally makes it high.'

Jiang Cheng said disgustedly: 'You cut it?'

Wei Wuxian said: 'That's a rather disgusting thought. Of course I didn't cut it — it was that woman he kept, she went mad and bit it off.'

Lan Wangji still stood behind them, watching this direction. Wei Wuxian suddenly recalled his presence again, turned around and smiled: 'Lan-er-gongzi, the scene that follows might not be quite suitable for you to witness. Perhaps you could withdraw.'

Although he said 'please,' his tone left no room for negotiation. Jiang Cheng also said, polite but distant: 'Indeed. Lan-er-gongzi, Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu have fallen into our hands. This mission is complete, and it is time for us to part ways. What follows is purely clan vengeance and private grudges — we ask you to take your leave first.'

Lan Wangji's gaze was still locked firmly on Wei Wuxian, but Wei Wuxian's attention had long been seized by the gasping remnants of his enemies. His eyes shone brightly as he stared at Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu, his smile excited and cruel. Jiang Cheng wore the same expression; both were already drowning in the overwhelming ecstasy of revenge, neither having the leisure to humor an outsider.

After a long while, Lan Wangji turned and descended the stairs.

Once outside the relay station, he stood guard at the entrance for a good while, yet never left.

No one knew how much time passed before the silent night was rent by prolonged, harrowing howls.

Lan Wangji lifted his head and looked back; his white robes and forehead ribbon billowed and snapped in the cold wind.

The dark night had passed; the sun in the sky was about to rise.

But the sun on the earth was setting.