Chapter 233: Returning Together (Part III)
Since Xiao Ji had nodded, he would definitely go.
But as for when he would go, it was hard to say.
Because Xiao Ji simply didn’t care about the life or death of others.
Even if it were a fellow disciple who had grown up with Xiao Ji—someone talking to him one second and dying right in front of him the next—the most he would do is notify Patriarch Xiao. Not remaining completely indifferent while someone died before his eyes was already considered the utmost of his benevolence.
Patriarch Xiao was still uneasy and instructed again, “Go early.”
Xiao Ji gave another slight nod.
Patriarch Xiao pondered for a moment. “So when do you plan to depart?”
Xiao Ji: “Wait a moment.”
The two locked eyes. Patriarch Xiao looked at Xiao Ji’s steady, mountain-like demeanor and asked, “Why do you still need to wait a moment?”
Xiao Ji didn’t know what he was waiting for either.
He only faintly sensed that there would inevitably be unforeseen variables on this trip. It was as if something was waiting for him at the foot of the mountain, and right now, he wasn’t yet fully prepared to accept this change.
But he couldn’t express this feeling directly to Patriarch Xiao.
He looked at Patriarch Xiao’s anxious expression and fell into another long silence.
The two stared at each other motionlessly. Patriarch Xiao’s intention was obvious: as long as he didn’t see Xiao Ji set off, he wasn’t going to leave.
Thus, an hour later, when the incense ash in the burner had burned out, Xiao Ji suddenly stood up, lit a new stick of incense, and left the room without a word.
After a cultivator reaches a certain realm in their cultivation, they can fly on swords and shrink the ground to travel thousands of miles.
But Xiao Ji didn’t have a sword, nor did he shrink the ground; he walked down the mountain.
It wasn’t that he loved walking; he just wanted to drag it out.
He walked down the mountain and arrived at Qingyang Town before remembering that he had forgotten to ask Patriarch Xiao which specific village in Qingyang Town the incident had occurred in.
So he stopped by the street, pulled three copper coins from his robes, and cast a divination.
After calculating the direction, he heard the boss of a nearby tea stall chatting idly with a young woman selling steamed buns next door:
“Yunniang, have you heard about the strange happenings in Fu’an Village, twenty miles north of the town?”
Xiao Ji pursed his lips, put away the copper coins, and headed north out of the town.
By the time he arrived near the village where the incident took place, the sky had already grown dark.
As Xiao Ji kept his head down and continued walking, he heard the sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers echoing from not far away, creating quite a lively commotion.
Two bright red lanterns hung on either side of the large gates outside the village, swaying in the moonlight. They faintly illuminated the somewhat old and dilapidated characters on the wooden plaque above the village entrance:
[Fu’an Village]
This area of Qingyang had its own wedding customs. Usually, guests were only banqueted in the evening. Families with lesser means would conclude the wedding banquet before midnight, but those with better means would keep the flowing banquet running until the Chen hour (7-9 AM) the next day.
There was nothing unusual about this. What was strange was that ever since Xiao Ji entered the borders of Fu’an Village, he only heard the sounds of gongs and drums, yet the streets were completely empty without a single soul in sight.
Every household’s door was shut tight, showing not the slightest hint of festivity.
He walked along the street for a while. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he shifted his body slightly sideways just as a sharp blade thrust past, narrowly grazing his ear.
Xiao Ji raised his hand, catching the blade between his fingertips. The blade rapidly froze over, and with a forceful pinch of his fingers, it snapped clean into two pieces.
Before he could even look to see who the attacker was, a voice behind him cried out in pleasant surprise:
“Senior Brother Wuyan!”
Xiao Ji turned his head and glanced at the man who had just attacked him. The man was wearing a wide-sleeved cloud-brocade outer robe that looked somewhat familiar—clearly a fellow disciple from his sect.
However, he couldn’t recall this person’s name at the moment, so he merely gave a slight nod in response.
After clearly seeing Xiao Ji’s face, the man disregarded his ruined sword. He casually sheathed the remaining broken half, cupped his fists, and bowed to Xiao Ji:
“I apologize for the offense just now. I hope Senior Brother will forgive me.”
Xiao Ji nodded slightly, remaining silent.
As they looked at each other, the man took the initiative to say, “Senior Brother, I am Xiao Ran.”
Xiao Ji wasn’t particularly interested in this. Even if the man stated his name, it wasn’t guaranteed he would remember it. Right now, he only cared about the situation in the village. He asked:
“How is it? Have you engaged in combat yet?”
Xiao Ran shook his head. “It’s bizarre. Senior Brother Chen and the rest of us have been here for many days, but the demon in this village hasn’t made a single move. It has only trapped us here and done absolutely nothing else.”
Saying this, he waved his hand toward Xiao Ji. “Senior Brother, follow me.”
Xiao Ji followed behind Xiao Ran to a relatively hidden courtyard. Only after following Xiao Ran inside did he see that the room was packed with people.
Some were disciples of the Xiao family, while others Xiao Ji only glanced at briefly before withdrawing his gaze.
Cultivators naturally possessed special constitutions. Clearing impurities from the body was a basic requirement, so even if most couldn’t be called stunningly handsome, they should at least possess delicate and refined features.
But those people were a mixed bag in terms of appearance; at a glance, they were clearly ordinary passersby who had been swept into this mess while traveling through the area.
Upon seeing Xiao Ji, the Xiao family members grew excited and immediately began greeting him one after another.
But Xiao Ji turned a deaf ear to them. His attention was fixed on a youth in coarse black clothes sitting in the corner.
The youth sat in the corner with one leg drawn up. His features were striking and vivid, but his expression was somewhat listless.
While Xiao Ji was observing the youth, the youth also looked toward Xiao Ji. After a brief crossing of gazes, the youth was the first to look away, appearing entirely uninterested in Xiao Ji.
If no one brought up business, Xiao Ji wouldn’t initiate the conversation himself.
The Xiao family members had some understanding of their Senior Brother Xiao Ji’s personality.
Xiao Ran said to Xiao Ji, “On our first day here, we attended the wedding banquet in this village…”
When everyone entered, they had walked straight into an illusion. The moment they crossed the threshold, they found themselves seated at the guest tables of the wedding banquet.
To their surprise, the groom was a fool.
If he had merely been foolish, it might have been fine, but he also harbored some unspeakable, vile habits.
At first, everything seemed normal, but after the couple entered the bridal chamber, the woman’s screams and even cries for help constantly echoed from the room.
The Xiao family members wanted to investigate, but they found themselves immobilized in their seats. They could only watch as the surrounding villagers continued to drink, congratulating the hosts, laughing, chatting, and speaking loudly—turning a completely deaf ear to the screams.
They sat at the banquet for an entire night, eventually falling asleep alongside the other guests without realizing it.
When they opened their eyes the next day, they saw debris scattered across the floor, along with the bride, who had already hung herself from the roof beam.
Xiao Ran paused here, his expression turning strange:
“We brothers were still immobilized, as if trapped in a nightmare. One moment the bride was hanging from the beam, and the next, she appeared right in front of us, asking us why we weren’t smiling.”
“But just when I thought she was going to attack, for some unknown reason, she suddenly stopped and vanished in an instant.”
Xiao Ji frowned. “Suddenly vanished?”
Xiao Ran couldn’t make sense of it either and nodded. “Suddenly vanished. And up until now, we haven’t been able to find a way out, nor can we figure out the cause of all this.”
Another Xiao family disciple spoke up:
“We can’t break this illusion, and we can’t leave. Even if the bride doesn’t attack, we’ll eventually be trapped here until we die. We still need to find a way to draw the bride out and shatter the illusion.”
Xiao Ran nodded and turned to Xiao Ji. “Right now, it comes down to how we lure the bride out. Does Senior Brother have any ideas?”
At this point, before Xiao Ji could respond, the youth in the corner suddenly shifted his posture. Half-lying on a pile of straw, he crossed his legs and drawled lazily:
“The new bride was angry with her husband and dissatisfied with him, which led to the current consequences. Why not try swapping the groom? Maybe if she’s satisfied, she’ll let everyone go.”
Translator’s Note:
- Flowing banquet (流水席): A traditional Chinese banquet style where guests arrive at different times, eat, and leave, and the food is continuously served like flowing water to accommodate a large number of people over a long period.
- Shrinking the ground (縮地千裏): A common cultivation term referring to a movement technique or spell that allows a cultivator to compress the physical distance between two points, taking a single step to travel miles.
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