Backlash Part 2

Chapter 234: Baifeng Mountain - Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian instinctually began to reach for Suibian only to freeze when he saw the blood still decorating the blade. He changed tactics and searched himself for injuries. He didn't feel any noticeable wounds, but Xue Yang had clearly been in an active fight before Wei Wuxian returned to his body. Wei Wuxian didn't feel fully present within his own body yet. Everything felt a little surreal, like he was disconnected from everything around him. Even when he found the sluggishly bleeding cut on his arm, he couldn't really feel it.

Wei Wuxian prodded at the injury until his hand was soaked in red. He couldn't control these corpses in the traditional way. They answered to someone else, and with resentful energy it was first come first serve. So Wei Wuxian couldn't take control of the corpses, but that didn't mean he couldn't influence them.

Wei Wuxian allowed his eyes to skim over the cultivators. He could see robes of over a dozen sects scattered together. Almost half of the cultivators were juniors, either recent recruits or those just barely young enough to be held back from fighting during the sunshot campaign. Wei Wuxian wasn't entirely certain of where he was. It had to be somewhere near Koi Tower. Lan Zhan had said he found Nuan-er, and she wouldn't have been able to make it far.

Wei Wuxian paused. Nuan-er was very resourceful and she had the talismans Wei Wuxian made for her. He could allow for the fact that with some luck she might be able to make it out of Koi tower, and maybe into the back of a cart leaving for another city. He didn't think she would though. Nuan-er was expecting Wei Wuxian to come find her. She would find a place to hide and stay there unless she had to move.

So, assuming they were near Koi Tower, then for cultivators from all these sects to be present would imply some sort of event. A discussion conference was possible. Wei Wuxian couldn't be certain how long he'd been held captive or what might have been happening in the cultivation world while he was gone. On the other hand, the Nighthunt competition on Mount Baifeng had already been planned.

It made sense. The sects would have brought a limited number of disciples, since it was a peaceful event. However, for the competition, they would bring a mix of seniors and juniors. Not all of their seniors, just enough to help boost their accomplishments in the contest. Most importantly they would also have brought a good number of junior disciples and the disciples would have dispersed into small groups to improve their chances of finding and catching prey. A Nighthunt competition was an opportunity for junior disciples to gain experience with much lower risk than being sent out for nighthunts. The most promising juniors, heirs and head disciples, would have certainly been brought.

Wei Wuxian looked at the junior disciples trying to fight beside their seniors. Terrified, but trying to be brave. Even the seniors were struggling. None of them had ever fought so many fierce corpses at once. In the war the fierce corpses had been under Wei Wuxian's control. There had been no need for them to fight hordes of them.

Wei Wuxian was probably the only cultivator alive who knew what it was truly like to fight for your life against an endless horde of fierce corpses. No matter how skilled they were, some of the seniors would die. No matter how careful or how hard they fought, some of the juniors would die. Wei Wuxian allowed his eyes to skim over Jiang Yanli briefly. He would do anything to keep her safe. It wouldn't make up for what he did. It wouldn't clean the blood from his hands.

Wei Wuxian etched the radicals for a lure flag into the air. Each stroke forged from blood and raw power. He couldn't control these corpses, but unless they were given a very detailed command he could shift their focus. With the amount of resentful beings he could sense in the area, he doubted whoever was controlling them had the control for refined instructions. A basic command like fight, or kill everyone, would be the easiest to give.