Her fingers gripped the bandages on Wen Chao’s head and ripped them off hard!
Wen Zhuliu had only just changed Wen Chao’s bandages after using the salve, so the salve, skin, and bandages were still damp, and stuck together as she pulled. Burned skin was fragile to begin with. This single forceful yank tore off the still-fresh scabs as well as the thin burned skin and flesh. Even his lips were ripped away. In an instant, his marred, bald head became a mangled, bloody dome.
Wen Chao fainted on the spot.
The moment Wen Zhuliu heard his blood-curdling scream, he immediately whirled around in an attempt to save him. On the roof, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng tightened their grips on their swords and prepared to attack.
However, they heard another shriek.
The ghostly child at Wei Wuxian’s feet had pounced. Wen Zhuliu struck his palm at the ghostly child’s forehead but was assaulted by intense pain as the ghostly child bared his sharp teeth and bit down. Unable to shake him off, Wen Zhuliu attempted to ignore the ghostly child and move to save Wen Chao, but the child spat out the large chunk of flesh it had ripped from his palm and continued to gnaw at the rest of his hand.
Wen Zhuliu grabbed the ghostly child’s small, ice-cold head with his other hand, looking as if he planned to crush it. The pale-faced woman threw the bloody bandages to the ground and, falling to all fours like an animal, crawled to Wen Zhuliu in a flash. A single slash of her hands left him with ten bloody gouges.
The two nefarious creatures continued their assault, forcing Wen Zhuliu to grapple with them as they bit and tore at him incessantly. He was completely overwhelmed, and his flailing rendered him an extremely sorry sight. Turning his head, he saw Wei Wuxian watching from the sidelines with a sneer on his face. Without warning, Wen Zhuliu pounced at him.
Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng’s faces fell. Lan Wangji smacked his palm down; tiles shattered and the roof collapsed. He dropped from the eaves into the second story of the post station and positioned himself between Wen Zhuliu and Wen Wuxian.
Wen Zhuliu was taken aback as a long whip crackling with purple light suddenly lashed through the air. It twisted around Wen Zhuliu’s neck, winding around it a full three times before suspending him above the ground. The whip, which sizzled with lightning, dangled his heavy body in the air, swiftly followed by the crunch of his neck snapping.
At the same time, Wei Wuxian’s pupils shrank. He pulled the flute from his waist and rose to his feet in a swirl of robes. The ghostly child and pale-faced woman who had been tearing at Wen Zhuliu swiftly retreated to his side and stared warily at the two strange newcomers.
Wen Zhuliu wasn’t dead just yet. His face bulged and reddened, and his body spasmed. He struggled even now, his eyes open so wide his eyeballs all but burst from their sockets. The ghostly child kept baring his teeth at Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng in an open display of animosity. Wei Wuxian raised his hand slightly and bade the ghostly child retract his fangs.
His eyes darted back and forth between Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng. None of them seemed to want to be the first to speak.
After a long moment, Jiang Cheng tossed something over. Wei Wuxian raised his hand and caught it without a second thought.
“Your sword!” Jiang Cheng said.
Wei Wuxian’s hand slowly dropped. He glanced down at Suibian. After a brief pause, he muttered, “…Thanks.”
There was another long silence.
All of a sudden, Jiang Cheng walked up to him and smacked him. “You bastard! Where have you been for the past three months?!”
Although the words were scolding, his tone revealed his wild delight. While Lan Wangji did not go to him, his eyes remained locked on Wei Wuxian. Not once did he look away.
The smack from Jiang Cheng completely dazed Wei Wuxian. A second later, he slapped him back.
“Ha ha, it’s a long story. A long story!”
The two smacks seemed to dissipate most of the cold, gloomy aura surrounding him. Despite his joy, Jiang Cheng was angry too. He hugged Wei Wuxian hard, then shoved him away and began to yell at him.
“Didn’t we agree to meet at that crappy town at the foot of the mountain?! I waited for five or six days but I didn’t catch a single glimpse of you! Even if you want to die, at least die in front of me! Do you know how insanely busy I’ve been the past three months?!”
Wei Wuxian swept away the hem of his robe and settled down again at the table. “Like I said, it’s a long story.” He waved dismissively. “A bunch of Wen dogs were moving earth and heaven to find me at the time. They were waiting for me at that village. They caught me, then threw me into a hellhole to suffer.”
As he spoke, the pale-faced woman crawled toward him on her hands and knees. Her expression had been hideously savage while she fought but was now bewitchingly charming. Like a favored concubine ingratiating herself with her master, she giggled and kneeled by Wei Wuxian’s side with her blue face pressed against his thigh. Wei Wuxian reclined against the edge of the table, his right hand stroking her long, soft hair over and over. Lan Wangji’s face grew progressively grimmer as he watched Wei Wuxian’s actions.
Although the scene made Jiang Cheng a little uncomfortable, his surprise overtook his discomfort. “What hellhole? I interrogated the people in town, and they all said they’d never seen you before!”
“You questioned the people in that town?” Wei Wuxian laughed. “They’re all naive, rural villagers scared of inviting trouble. Why would they dare tell you the truth? Besides, the Wen dogs must’ve done something to seal their mouths. Of course they’d saw they never saw me.”
“Those old fools!” Jiang Cheng cursed. He then probed further. “What hellhole? Qishan? Nightless City? How did you escape, then? And turn into…this. What are…what are those two things? To think they actually obey you. Lan-er-gongzi and I took on this mission to launch a night raid to kill Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu, but someone beat us to it. I never expected it to be you! Were you also the one who altered those talismans?”
From the corner of his eye, Wei Wuxian caught a glimpse of Lan Wangji, who had been watching them speak. He smiled.
“More or less. Would you believe me if I said I found a mysterious cave somewhere, packed full of mysterious scrolls left behind by a mysterious master, and then emerged like this and went on a killing spree?”
Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue. “Wake up. You’ve read way too many fantasies. The world isn’t packed with secret masters and secret caves with secret scrolls!”
Wei Wuxian shrugged. “See? You don’t believe me even when I tell you. I’ll explain my situation in detail later, when we have time.”
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lan Wangji, guessing that it was likely something not appropriate to be discussed in the presence of an outsider. Curbing his delight, he finally said, “All right. We’ll talk later. It’s good to have you back.”
“Mmm. Good to be back,” Wei Wuxian concurred.
Jiang Cheng mumbled “good to have you back” a few more times to himself, then smacked Wei Wuxian hard again. “You really are…! To think you could escape death even after the Wen dogs caught you!”
“Of course,” Wei Wuxian replied smugly. “Who do you think I am?”
Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but curse. “The hell are you so smug for?! If you weren’t dead, why didn’t you come back earlier?!”
“I just got out, didn’t I?” Wei Wuxian explained. “I heard that you and shijie were doing well and that you were rebuilding the Jiang Clan and forming an alliance to participate in the fight. And so I went to kill some Wen dogs to lighten your load and contribute a little. You’ve worked hard the past three months.”
The last sentence made Jiang Cheng recall those three arduous months—made him recall the way he’d been constantly on the move, busy all day and all night. He seemed to get a bit emotional but immediately schooled his expression.
“Put that lousy sword of yours away properly!” he snapped. “I’ve been waiting for you to get back and take it off my hands. I don’t want to haul two swords around all the time and constantly be bombarded with nosy questions!”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji suddenly called.
He’d been standing quietly at the side all this time. At the sudden call, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng both turned to him. It was only then that Wei Wuxian seemed to remember to greet him. He dipped his head and did so.
“Hanguang-jun.”
“Were you the one who has been killing Wen sect disciples?” Lan Wangji asked.
“Of course,” Wei Wuxian replied.