He stared at the ceiling as if he was not in the least bit interested in his current circumstances. He seemed completely indifferent to where he was.
Wei Wuxian had not expected such a reaction from him. Sorrow, delight, rage, shock—none of those emotions seemed present at all. His heart leaped into his throat.
“Jiang Cheng, can you see me? Can you hear me? Do you recognize who I am?”
Jiang Cheng glanced at him and said nothing. Wei Wuxian tried asking him a few more questions. Finally, Jiang Cheng propped himself up on his elbows. He looked down at the wound from the discipline whip on his chest and let out a bitter laugh.
When the discipline whip struck, there was no removing the mark of shame. Against his own conscience, Wei Wuxian said, “Don’t look. We’ll find a way to get rid of it.”
Jiang Cheng struck a palm at him. The strike was so weak and feeble that Wei Wuxian did not even sway.
“Hit me all you want. As long as it makes you feel better.”
“Did you feel it?” Jiang Cheng asked.
Wei Wuxian was momentarily taken aback. “What? Feel what?”
“My spiritual power. Did you feel it?” Jiang Cheng pressed him.
“What spiritual power?” Wei Wuxian asked. “You didn’t use spiritual power at all.”
“I did.”
“What exactly… What did you say?”
Jiang Cheng repeated himself word for word. “I said, I used it. I used all my spiritual power and then some for that strike. So I’m asking you—did you feel it?”
Wei Wuxian stared at him, falling quiet. After a moment, he said, “Try hitting me again.”
“Forget it,” Jiang Cheng told him. “No matter how many times I hit you, the result will be the same. Wei Wuxian, do you know why Core-Melting Hand is called that?”
Wei Wuxian’s heart sank.
“Because his hands can dissolve golden cores and render the victims unable to form new ones,” Jiang Cheng continued. “Their spiritual power will dissipate, reducing them to nothing more than ordinary humans. And an ordinary human in a cultivation clan is good for nothing. They can only live out the rest of their common lives, abandoning all dreams of ever ascending higher.
“Wen Zhuliu dissolved Mom and Father’s golden cores. Once they lost the ability to fight back, he killed them.”
Wei Wuxian’s mind was in turmoil. At a loss as to what to do, he murmured, “…Core-Melting Hand… Core-Melting Hand…”
Jiang Cheng laughed grimly. “Wen Zhuliu, Wen Zhuliu. I want to seek revenge. I have to. But how can I? I don’t even have a golden core anymore, and I’ll never be able to form a new one again. So how am I going to take revenge? Ha ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…”
Wei Wuxian’s legs gave out from under him. He stared at Jiang Cheng, who seemed to have gone insane. Words failed him.
No one knew better than him just how competitive Jiang Cheng was. How much he valued his own cultivation and spiritual power. And with a single strike, Core-Melting Hand had shattered his cultivation, self-esteem, and hope for revenge to smithereens!
Jiang Cheng howled with laughter like a madman. He lay back down on the bed with his arms spread open and abandoned himself to despair. “Wei Wuxian, why did you save me? What’s the point of saving me? To let me live on uselessly while I watch the Wen dogs run rampant?”
Wen Ning reentered just then, carrying a bowl of medicinal decoction. He walked over to the bed with what appeared to be a deferential smile on his face, but before he could say a word, that blazing sun uniform entered Jiang Cheng’s field of vision. His pupils instantly shrank.
Jiang Cheng kicked out at Wen Ning, spilling the bowl of black decoction all over him. Wei Wuxian tried to catch the bowl of medicine as it overturned, and helped pull the petrified Wen Ning back while he was at it.
Jiang Cheng snarled at him, “What’s wrong with you?”
Wen Ning was so frightened he staggered backward. Jiang Cheng grabbed Wei Wuxian by the collar and shouted in his face.
“Why don’t you kill Wen dogs when you see them?! And you even helped him up? Do you have a death wish?!”
Although he exerted all the strength he had in him, his hands were still weak. Wei Wuxian broke free of his grip in no time, and it was then that Jiang Cheng seemed to notice where he was.
He scanned his surroundings and asked warily, “Where is this place?”
Wen Ning answered from the far side of the room, “The Yiling Overwatch Office, but it’s very safe…”
“Overwatch Office?” Jiang Cheng whirled around to accuse Wei Wuxian. “You willingly walked into their trap?”
“No!” Wei Wuxian denied.
“No?” Jiang Cheng snapped. “Then what are you doing in an Overwatch Office? How’d you get here? Don’t tell me you turned to a Wen dog for help?!”
Wei Wuxian grabbed hold of him. “Jiang Cheng, don’t panic. It’s safe here! Clear your head a little. Core-Melting Hand might be able to undo…”
Jiang Cheng was completely deaf to anyone’s words. He was half insane as he choked Wei Wuxian and broke out in hysterical laughter.
“Wei Wuxian, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, Wei Wuxian! You! You…”
Suddenly a red shadow kicked the door open and dashed inside. A streak of silver flashed as her palm struck down. It was a needle, and it had been jabbed into Jiang Cheng’s head. He immediately slumped backward.
Wen Qing spun around and closed the door.
In hushed tones, she rebuked her brother angrily. “Wen Ning, how foolish can you be?! You let him cackle and carry on and cause such a commotion? Do you want to be discovered?”
“Jiejie!” Wen Ning said in delight, as if he’d just seen his savior.