Who You Are Book 2

Chapter 13 - Paper Money

After Xue Yang's corpse disappeared, the circulation of the fog quickened. It seemed to have thinned and the surroundings became somewhat easier to see. Because of this, Wei Wuxian suddenly noticed that Song Lan was gone. At where he had originally lay, only Wen Ning still squatted on the ground, staring at them blankly.

Lan Wangji put his hand back to Bichen, which he had already unsheathed. Wei Wuxian stopped him, "It's fine. There's no need to be alarmed. Song Lan, or the fierce corpse back there, probably doesn't have killing intentions anymore, or else Wen Ning would've alerted us. It's likely that he regained consciousness and left on his own."

He whistled lightly. Wen Ning stood up and proceeded to leave, his figure disappearing into the fog. The noises of chains dragging on the ground gradually faded into the distance.

Lan Wangji didn't say anything more. He calmly turned to Wei Wuxian, "Let us go."

Just as they were about to leave, suddenly, Wei Wuxian stopped, "Wait."

He saw something lying alone in the blood. It was a severed left arm. Four of the fingers were closed tightly. The little finger was missing. The fist of the arm was firmly clenched. Wei Wuxian squatted down. Only by using most of his strength did he succeed in prying the fingers open one by one. After the fist had been opened, he found that it held a small piece of candy. The piece of candy was tinted slightly black. It was definitely not edible anymore. It had been clenched so tightly that it was almost crushed.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji returned to the coffin home together. The doors were open. As they had expected, Song Lan was standing beside the coffin that Xiao XingChen lay in, looking inside with his head hanging low.

All of the disciples unsheathed their swords. They huddled on the side, staring cautiously at the fierce corpse that had just attacked them. Seeing that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji returned, they looked as if their lives had been saved, yet they were too scared to make any noise, afraid of alarming or infuriating Song Lan.

Wei Wuxian walked into the coffin home and introduced to Lan Wangji, "This is Song Lan, Daozhang Song ZiChen."

Standing by the coffin, Song Lan raised his head and turned to them. Lifting up the hem of his robes, Lan Wangji stepped over the high threshold in an elegant manner, then nodded.

Since Song Lan had regained his consciousness, his pupils returned as well. A pair of clear, black eyes stared back at them. Amid the eyes that had originally been Xiao XingChen's, a deep, indescribable sorrow brimmed. Thus, there was no need to ask any questions. Wei Wuxian knew already. During the period that Xue Yang made him into a fierce corpse and commanded him, he saw and remembered everything. No matter how much more they inquired, how much more they talked, it'd only lay more emphasis on the pain and hopelessness.

After a moment of silence, Wei Wuxian took out two Spirit-trapping Pouches of the same small size. He handed them to Song Lan, "Daozhang Xiao XingChen and Maiden A-Qing."

Even though A-Qing was extremely scared of Xue Yang, a while ago, she still followed closely behind the one who killed her, refusing to let him dodge or escape until, finally, he was pierced through the heart by Bichen and got what he deserved. From a slap of the talisman, she had almost disappeared. Wei Wuxian only brought back a few fragments by searching and piecing as hard as he could. However, now, it was also rather scattered, the same as Xiao XingChen.

Of the two lumps of weak souls, each was curled up in its Spirit-trapping Pouch. It was as if just a slight bump would cause them to dissipate within the pouch. With shaking hands, Song Lan took them over and rested them on top of his palm. He didn't even dare to carry them by the strings, afraid that they'd sway too much.