The Founder of Diabolism - Chapter 25

Chapter 25 Malice—
Part Three
However, having taken only one step back, his
ankle twisted, and he seemed as if he almost
collapsed on the ground. With a change in
expression, Lan Wangji hurried over and
tightly gripped his wrist like what he did last
time, back in Dafan Mountain. After Wei
WuXian had been steadied, Lan Wangji knelt
down on one knee to examine his leg. Wei
WuXian was rather shocked, “N-n-no,
HanCuang-Jun. You don’t have to do this.”
Lan Wangji raised his head slightly, the pair of
light-colored eyes boring into him, then looked
down again and continued to roll up the leg of
his trousers. Still under his grip, Wei WuXian
could do nothing except to look up at the sky.
His entire leg was covered with the black
bruise of the Curse Mark.
After staring at it for a while, Lan Wangji spoke
in a bitter voice,"... I only left for a few hours.”

Wei WuXian shrugged, “A few hours is a long
time. Anything could have happened. There,
there. Straighten up.”
He backhandedly pulled Lan Wangji up, "It’s
only the average Curse Mark. We can just kill it
when it comes to find me. HanCuang-Jun,
you’ll need to help me. If you don’t, I won’t be
able to handle it. Have you caught the person?
Is it him? Where is he now?”
Lan Wangji looked in the direction of a
signboard that stood in front of a shop far
down the street. Wei WuXian continued, "Let’s
deal with the stone castle issue first." He then
walked toward the shop. He didn’t notice
before, but his leg felt a bit numb, probably
from Zidian. It was a good thing that Jiang
Cheng controlled Zidian’s force so that he
wasn’t made into a scorched corpse that had
been struck by lightning.
Lan Wangji stood behind him. He suddenly
called out. “Wei Ying.”

Wei WuXian’s figure paused. A second later,
he pretended as if he didn't hear the name,
and answered, "What?”
Lan Wangji, "This was transferred from Jin
Ling’s body, was it not.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
Wei WuXian didn’t say anything. Lan Wangji
spoke again, “You met Jiang WanYin.”
It wasn’t hard to figure out due to the mark
that Zidian left on top of the Curse Mark. Wei
WuXian turned around, “As long as both of us
are alive in this world, we’d meet for sure,
sooner or later.”
Lan Wangji, "Do not go...”
Wei WuXian, "If I don't go, how am i supposed
to leave? Are you gonna carry me on your
back or something?”
Lan Wangji looked at him in silence. Wei
WuXian’s smile froze on his face, just as a
foreboding feeling crossed his mind.

If it were the Lan Zhan from back then, he
would definitely be shocked speechless by
these words, and either leave with a cold face
or completely ignore him. However, it’d be
hard to say how the Lan Zhan now would
respond. As he had expected, hearing these
words, Lan Wangji walked in front of him, as if
he really was going to bend down, kneel, and
carry Wei WuXian on his back, despite his
honorable status. Shock came upon Wei
WuXian once more, "Stop, stop. I wasn’t being
serious. It’s only numb because I got hit by
Zidian a few times, not that it broke. It’d look
bad for a full-grown man like me to be carried
on somebody else’s back.”
Lan Wangji asked, "Would it look bad?”
Wei WuXian replied, "Would it look good?"
After a moment of silence, Lan Wangji
responded, "But you have also carried me on
your back before.”
Wei WuXian, “Did such a thing ever happen?
Why don’t I remember?"

Lan Wangji answered in an indifferent tone,
"You never remember such things.”
Wei WuXian, "Everyone says that I have a bad
memory. Alright, fine. Anyways, I’m not letting
you carry me on your back.”
Lan Wangji, "Are you sure?”
Wei WuXian replied in a resolute manner, “I’m
sure.”
The two stayed silent for a while. Suddenly,
one of Lan Wangji's arms wrapped around his
back and, as Lan Wangji bent down slightly,
another went toward the back of his knees.
Wei WuXian was both shorter and lighter than
him. Therefore, he was picked up easily, his
body was embraced in a pair of firm arms.
Wei WuXian didn’t expect his answer to lead
to this at all. Both in his past and current lives,
it was the first time that he had been treated
like this by anyone. He was horrified, "Lan
Zhan!!!”

Carrying him, Lan Wangji both walked and
replied to him steadily, “You said that you
didn't want to be carried on my back."
Wei WuXian, “I didn’t say that I wanted to be
carried like this either.”
Fortunately, it was already late into the night.
There weren’t any people walking on the
streets, so it wasn’t that embarrassing. Wei
WuXian wasn’t someone with a thin face
either. Having been carried for a few steps, he
quickly relaxed. He grinned as he played with
the front of Lan Wangji’s clothes, pretending to
tug at it, “So you want to see whose face is
thicker?”

The cold scent of sandalwood enveloped him.
Without paying him attention, Lan Wangji
looked straight forward and made no reaction,
maintaining the righteous, serious expression.
Seeing that nothing could affect him, Wei
WuXian thought to himself as he continued to
play with Lan Wangji’s clothes, It seems that
Lan Zhan’s heart for revenge is actually quite
strong. He’s going to make me pay for
however many times I've teased him in the
past and take the fun away This is such an
improvement. Not only has his level of
cultivation improved, his face also improved.
Wei WuXian asked, “Lan Zhan, you’ve known
that it was me ever since we were at Dafan
Mountain, right?”
Lan Wangji, “Yes.”
Wei WuXian wondered, "How could you tell?”
Lan Wangji looked down at him, “You want to
know?”
Wei WuXian declared, “Yes.”
Lan Wangji, “You told me yourself."

Wei WuXian, “Myself? Because of Jin Ling?
Because I summoned Wen Ning? None of
these, right?"
It seemed as if something had sent ripples
through Lan Wangji’s eyes. Yet, the slight
waves faded immediately, and his eyes were a
still pool of water again.
He spoke in a serious tone, “Think."
Wei WuXian replied, “I only asked you
because I can't think of the reason."
This time, no matter how he asked, Lan Wangji
refused to answer. With Wei WuXian in his
arms, he stepped into an inn. Aside from the
front desk clerk who choked on some water,
none of the bystanders acted strangely. As
they arrived at the door of the room, Wei
WuXian spoke, "Okay. We’re here. It’s time for
you to let me down. You don’t have a third
hand to open the door...”

Before he finished his words, Lan Wangji did
something that was extremely impolite. It was
possibly the first time in his whole life that he
had ever done such a rude act.
Carrying Wei WuXian, he kicked the door
open.
The two doors sprang open, and the person
who sat nervously inside instantly wailed,
“HanCuang-Jun, I don’t know, I don’t know, I..."
After he realized in what posture the two of
them came inside, he stared blankly at them,
barely managing to finish the last sentence. ”... I
really don’t know.”
It really was the “Head Shaker”.

Acting as if he didn’t see anything, Lan Wangji
carried Wei WuXian inside and put him on the
bamboo mat. Nie HuaiSang’s seemed as if he
couldn’t bear to look at the scene, and
immediately opened his fan, covering his face
with it. Wei WuXian walked around the fan to
examine him. Even after so many years, his
past classmate didn’t bear many changes. He
looked the same as he did back then. Although
he was born with an elegant, attractive face,
his expression made him seem as if one could
do anything to him. His stylish outfit showed a
fine taste in clothing, which meant that he
definitely put plenty of thought into it.
Compared to the leader of a sect, he further
resembled a wealthy idler. Even if he wore an
imperial robe, he wouldn't seem like a prince;
even if he held a saber, he wouldn't seem like a
cultivator.

He denied it no matter what, so Lan Wangji
put the piece of fabric that the spiritual dog
had bitten off onto the table. Nie HuaiSang felt
for his sleeve that lacked a certain scrap, then
replied miserably, ‘‘I just happened to pass by.
I really don’t know anything.”
Wei WuXian, “If you don’t know, I'll talk. As
you listen to me, maybe you’ll figure that you
do know some things after all.”
Nie HuaiSang opened and closed his mouth a
few times, unable to provide a response. Wei
WuXian proceeded. "In the area of Qinghe's
Xinglu Ridge, there have been rumors of the
'Man-Eating Ridge’ and ‘Man-Eating Castle’,
but there haven’t been any actual victims,
which is why it’s mere hearsay. The hearsay
would make it so that normal people avoid the
Xinglu Ridge. Thus, its real function is to act as
a defense line—the first one, in fact.

“If there’s a first, there must be a second. The
second defense line is the walking corpses on
the Xinglu Ridge. Even if someone who’s not
scared of the Man-Eating Castle rumors either
purposely or accidentally went inside the
ridge, after they see the walking dead, they will
definitely flee. However, these walking corpses
are small in number and weak in terms of
power, so they won’t cause any real harm.
"The third defense line is the maze array by the
stone castle. The first two are to defend
against normal people; only this one is to
defend against cultivators. But, nevertheless, it
only works against average cultivators. If a
cultivator who holds a spiritual weapon or dog
and specializes in maze arrays comes, or a
cultivator as powerful as HanGuang-Jun, this
defense line will have to be broken.

"The three defense measures exist in order for
the stone castle on the Xinglu Ridge to remain
hidden from the public. The identity of the
people who built the stone castle is quite clear.
This is the Nie Sect’s area. Aside from the Nie
Sect, nobody else is capable of easily setting
up these three obstacles in Qinghe. And,
moreover, you happened to appear near the
stone castle and leave evidence."
"What exactly is the QingheNie Sect’s goal of
building the Man-Eating Castle on the Xinglu
Ridge? Where did the corpses in the wall
come from? Were they eaten? Sect Leader Nie,
if you don’t give us a proper explanation here,
I’m afraid that, after the secret is exposed, all
of the sects and clans come here to interrogate
you. When the time comes, even if you want
to explain things, there won’t be anyone to
listen to or believe in you.”
Nie HuaiSang replied desperately, as if he had
given up,"... It isn’t a Man-Eating Castle at all.
It’s... It’s just my sect’s ancestral burial ground!”

Wei WuXian questioned, "Ancestral burial
ground? Whose ancestral burial ground buries
sabers instead of corpses?"
Nie HuaiSang responded with a sullen face,
"HanGuang-Jun, before I explain things, can
you promise me something? Seeing that our
two sects have known each other for long and
that our older brothers have sworn, no matter
what I say after this, you... and the one beside
you, must not tell anyone. If the secret is
exposed in the future, I’d greatly appreciate it if
the two of you can say a few good things as
witnesses. You’ve always been true to your
words. If you promise, I'll believe you.”
Lan Wangji, “As you wish.”
Wei WuXian asked, "You said that it’s not a
Man-Eating Castle after all, so does it mean
that it hasn’t eaten anyone?”
Nie HuaiSang clenched his teeth and answered
obediently,"... It has.”
Wei WuXian, "Wow.”

Nie HuaiSang immediately added, “But it was
only once! And the one at fault wasn’t our sect,
and it was dozens of years ago! The rumors of
the Man-Eating Castle on the Xinglu Ridge also
started since then. I... I only fanned the flames
and magnified the rumors.”

Translator’s Notes

Wei Ying: In case anyone has forgotten (aka
people like Addis the Editor), Wei Ying is Wei J
WuXian’s birth name. One’s birth name could
only be called by a close friend/family
member, or else it would have been
considered rude. Lan Wangji calls Wei
WuXian Wei Ying because they were
classmates once.