“Da-shixiong,” the pitched voice that couldn’t be matched with the usual cold youth rang loud and clear in the cold cell. A pair of bloodied hands clung onto the hem of white robes. “Da-shixiong, it wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me!”
Li Ran showed a pitying expression. He pursed his lips and averted his gaze, but the disciple behind him only scoffed.
“You still have the courage to lie to Da-shixiong like that? The evidence is right in front of our eyes! Even if Da-shixiong wanted to turn a blind eye and forgive you, do you think the other sect elders will?” the disciple spat on the red-clothed youth on the floor. “As if! You’re a monster! A freak! Immortal Wanli has only done good all her life, but it turns out, in the end, she had actually let in a white-eyed wolf into her house.”
The saliva sluggishly rolled down Wu Lingtian’s cheek, but the man didn’t seem to notice. His bloodshot eyes remained unmoving on Li Ran, as if the other man was his one and only savior. He struggled forward with his pair of broken legs and his cut up hands clung tightly onto the other man’s leg. As if he knew that if he let go, he would drown.
“Believe me—believe me, okay?” Wu Lingtian’s voice cracked. It had become hoarse after hours of torment. Like his mind, it was also on the verge of breaking. “I—I didn’t do it! I didn’t kill Rong Meihua! I wasn’t the one who killed our shizun!”
Li Ran pursed his lips. He slowly looked back at Wu Lingtian’s tattered form. His expression was a mixture of betrayal, distrust, and also sympathy. “Then who did it?”
Wu Lingtian’s eyes widened.
“Who did it then, Ling’er?” Li Ran knelt down to Wu Lingtian’s level. He jerked Wu Lingtian’s head towards him. His eyes pitying scanned each and every one of Wu Lingtian’s wounds. “Tell me—tell me, and then we can let you go.”
“I…” the words were stuck in Wu Lingtian’s throat.
Who did it? Just who had come up from behind Rong Meihua in the altar and beheaded her? Who had killed her and then framed Wu Lingtian?
He had an answer. He really did! It was on the tip of his tongue. The tip of his tongue but he…he couldn’t remember.
“…Why?” the word fell from Wu Lingtian’s lips as helplessness flooded through him. He raised his head and looked at Li Ran frantically. “N-no, I know! It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me, but I…I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember?” the disciple, still standing at the door of the cell, sneered. “Isn’t that just admittance then?”
“No, I really don’t—there was someone else!” Wu Lingtian scrambled to grab Li Ran’s collar. “There was! There had to be! He—she—they—they did something to me! I—”
Li Ran’s expression became more pained. “…Ling’er, there was no one else there. In the entire hall, the only energy detected was yours and Shizun’s.”
“That’s impossible,” Wu Lingtian mumbled, his broken fingers slowly releasing Li Ran. “That’s impossible, there’s no way I could have killed my own shizun…No way…there’s no way.”
“Hah! Look at this freak in denial,” the disciple stepped up to them. He raised a foot and sent a harsh kick to Wu Lingtian’s already broken ribs. “It’s been four days, yet he still hasn’t admitted to his crime and now he’s pretending to be crazy to gain Da-shixiong’s sympathy! The great, honorable Yu Lan Sword Immortal has actually resulted to this kind of state.”
Li Ran hurriedly helped Wu Lingtian. He sent a glare to the disciple, but the disciple only lowered his head without cowering. He turned back to Wu Lingtian, whose eyes had grown a fraction emptier.
“Ling’er,” Li Ran whispered. His uncalloused fingers carefully brushed back the disheveled hair. “Ling’er, just tell me who did it.”
“I…I really don’t,” Wu Lingtian shook his head. “But I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t kill my own shizun.”
“I know. I know that, but the evidence was clear as day,” Li Ran said, his eyes reddening. “You were the one standing over her body—you were the one who had her head in your hands.”
“…I was?”
“Yes! Even when I wanted to reason with the elders, no one believed me at that point! How could they?” Li Ran tried to keep his emotions from overtaking him, but he couldn’t help but raise his voice.
Wu Lingtian flinched.
The body in Li Ran’s arms began to tremble.
Li Ran let out a soft sigh. “…Or just admit it.”
“…What?”
“Admit you killed Shizun,” Li Ran released Wu Lingtian.
The only warmth he had felt for days suddenly left him. Wu Lingtian collapsed back onto the cold ground. He looked up as Li Ran slowly stood.
“Admit that you did and we can resolve it quickly,” Li Ran said sadly. “I don’t want to see you like this anymore, Ling’er.”
“But I can’t,” Wu Lingtian said stubbornly, a flash of defiance lighting up his dull, hopeless eyes. “I can’t admit to something I didn’t do.”
Li Ran’s expression pinched. He averted his gaze and turned his back to Wu Lingtian. “…Then, prepare yourself for tomorrow. I can’t stop the elders much longer.”
Wu Lingtian didn’t move. He remained limp against the hard ground as he watched Li Ran and the disciples who had followed him leave the cell.
The heavy iron door closed again, sealing away any light that had come in before.
It was cold.
The coldness seemed to seep into his bones and bleed into his injuries.
His ribs hurt. His legs hurt. His fingers and his arms hurt.
He slowly turned onto his back and looked at what he could only assume to be the ceiling.
It was dark.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Really dark.
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Wu Lingtian tried to remember, but he couldn’t.
When he woke up, he realized he couldn’t remember a lot of things.
How did he get into the hall? What had he been doing that day? Who was there with him and Rong Meihua? How did he even get arrested?
He forgot. He forgot a lot.
Wu Lingtian closed his eyes. There was little difference between having them open and having them closed anyway. It was better to just close them—that way the stinging would be less apparent.
If he forgot, then forget it. In fact, it would be better if he can just continue to forget. There was nothing in his life worth remembering anyway.
He had lived so long, but there was not a single thing he felt was worth remembering.
A soft sigh left his lips as his eyes slowly opened.
No. That was a lie.
There was…the first time he had tasted sweetness in his life. He wanted to remember that, at least—the first piece of candy he ate and the first time someone comforted him. He wanted to remember all those things and the person who gifted him those memories.
“…Fan Yi,” the name was whispered like a prayer in the dark cell.
No one responded, but Wu Lingtian felt a sliver of warmth reenter his body.
“Fan Yi,” Wu Lingtian whispered the name again.
He could almost picture the smile. He could almost taste the sweetness again.
Why did he stop eating sweets? He really liked sweets. Every time he had something sweet, he would always be able to forget about the harshness in life for that moment.
If he got out, he wanted to eat something sweet.
Anything sweet.
Wu Lingtian let out a pained laugh.
How ridiculous.
Pathetic.
He didn’t kill Rong Meihua, but was there anyone who would believe him? No one. Who would ever believe him? He, who had always opposed the cultivation world.
“He’s waking up.”
Wu Lingtian’s brows furrowed at the noise. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt far too heavy. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep a while longer.
“Is he really?” another voice entered the conversation.
“He is,” Fan Yi’s voice was the first Wu Lingtian recognized. “He’s waking up.”
“You said that yesterday, didn’t you? He didn’t wake up then,” the voice belonged to Tian Xiewen, Wu Lingtian quickly realized.
“We can’t rush him,” Zhen Yueyue said. “Just let him wake up in time.”
“Can we do that? Do we have time!?” Tian Xiewen’s voice raised in anger. “Those righteous cultivators have been knocking on our door for an explanation for four days! They don’t even believe Yu Lan is in a coma!”
“Well, what can we do? Pry his eyes open?” Ren Yizhou snapped. “Now, shut up—the kids will hear you.”
Tian Xiewen huffed in anger. There were heavy footsteps. Presumably he had moved further away.
Wu Lingtian’s eyes rolled underneath his eyelids. He felt a thumb gently brush against the crease between his brows and heard a soft whisper that only he could have heard, “A-Tian, be good. We can eat something sweet when you wake up, okay?”
The memory of the cold cell appeared again, but was masked by the warmth of the new familiarity he had. A simple, unimpressive home. A zig-zagging bridge over a koi pond. A rambunctious dining hall. A chaotic training arena.
Wu Lingtian’s eyes slowly opened. He looked over to Fan Yi, who had worry painted all over his face. He blinked slowly and looked to the other people in the room before forcing a smile.
“It was obviously really cold,” Wu Lingtian murmured, “but how come the moment I open my eyes, I feel like it’s the middle of summer?”
His quiet, raspy voice drew the attention of the people in the room.
“He’s awake!”
“Yu Lan, finally!”
“It’s been five days, you scared us to death!”
Fan Yi’s reaction was more subtle. He closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. When he opened his eyes, he had his usual smile resting on his face, “Welcome back, A-Tian.”
Wu Lingtian blinked slowly and basked in the noisiness for a moment before holding out his hand.
The room fell silent. They watched Wu Lingtian carefully.
“What’s wrong? Is there something you need?” Zhen Yueyue asked anxiously.
“Water? Is it water?” Ren Yizhou asked.
“What else would it be? Of course, it’s water!” Tian Xiewen moved to get water when Wu Lingtian’s voice interrupted him.
“Candy.”
“…Huh?”
“Candy,” Wu Lingtian looked at Fan Yi. “You said I could eat something sweet if I woke up.”
Fan Yi stared at Wu Lingtian incredulously.
Then a short, disbelieving laugh exited him.
“Candy?”
“Mn.”
“…Candy,” Fan Yi reached into his belt and produced a small pouch. He pulled out a neatly wrapped piece of candy and undid the wrapper. He placed it against Wu Lingtian’s lips and only stood up again when the other opened his mouth to accept it. “There. There’s your candy.”
Wu Lingtian rolled the piece of candy around in his mouth and slowly sat up. He stared blankly ahead, just like a person who had just woken up and needed to get his bearings.
“How’s Li Qing?”
“Worry about yourself first!” Tian Xiewen couldn’t help but explode again. “You—you managed to get back to the inn and then after you passed Li Qing off, you suddenly fainted! Do you know how worried everyone was?”
“Oh. Next time, I decide to faint, I’ll tell you first,” Wu Lingtian met Tian Xiewen’s gaze apathetically.
“You—”
“Stop being so unreasonable!” Ren Yizhou smacked the back of Tian Xiewen’s head. They turned to Wu Lingtian with furrowed brows. “He just means we’re glad you’re awake.”
“Third Pillar’s caring word will forever be stored in the depths of Lingtian’s heart,” Wu Lingtian looked dead at Tian Xiewen as he spoke. Although his voice seemed ingratiating, if you matched it with his wooden face, many would believe it to be enough reason to deck him.
Zhen Yueyue snuck a glance at Fan Yi and was relieved to see a small, but genuine smile emerging on his face.
The sound of candy clacking against Wu Lingtian’s teeth filled the brief silence until he spoke again. “Is Li Qing okay?”
Fan Yi sighed. “She’s doing fine, but she felt guilty about you fainting. We said it wasn’t her fault, but she’s been down for the past few days. Not to mention, whatever she saw in the alley really scared her. She hasn’t been wanting to talk about it either.”
Wu Lingtian let out a long hum. He threw the covers off of himself and stood. “I’ll go see her.”
Before he could even grab his shoes, Fan Yi’s hands fell onto his shoulders and pushed him back down. Wu Lingtian looked up at the other man’s smiling face.
“Mr. Wu, it seems that you’ve forgotten you were a patient that just woke up from being in a four-day coma,” Fan Yi laughed lightly. “It would be best if you don’t move around so much.”
“I feel fine.”
“You always feel fine.”
The edge in Fan Yi’s voice made Wu Lingtian stop protesting. He obediently got back into bed and folded his hands over the blanket. He looked at Fan Yi innocently. “Could you call Li Qing over, please?”
“With pleasure,” Fan Yi performed one last smile and left to find his little disciple.
Zhen Yueyue watched the door close and then sat down beside Wu Lingtian. “Scared me half to death!”
Tian Xiewen breathed out a long sigh and leaned against the wall behind him. “I hadn’t seen Fan-ge so angry in a long time.”
“It’s good that you woke up so soon,” Zhen Yueyue turned to Wu Lingtian. “If you had been any later, your Sect Leader would have gone to Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect and torn them to shreds.”
“What does this have to do with them?” Wu Lingtian asked curiously.
“Li Qing said that Li Ran was the last person you spoke to before you blacked out,” Tian Xiewen explained. “And then, after that, Fan-ge got a bit weird. The few times they crossed paths the past few days, Fan-ge always had that tight smile on his face, like he was already determining which acupoints to stick his needles in.”
“But was it really Li Ran’s fault?” Zhen Yueyue asked Wu Lingtian curiously.
“Well,” Wu Lingtian thought for a moment. “He was indeed the last person I talked to. And…”
With his track record, it wasn’t surprising that Fan Yi immediately assumed Li Ran’s mere presence caused him to black out.
“Anyway, it wasn’t directly related to him this time,” Wu Lingtian said to the three others.
“This time,” Ren Yizhou frowned.
“Nothing to worry about,” Wu Lingtian said. He looked back to the door and quickly changed the subject, “Anything else I’ve missed? Right, what was in the alley? And I heard you talking about the others looking to talk to me? What happened?”
“The alley…” Tian Xiewen sighed. “Another member of Wu Rong School. This time, it was an elder. Last time, it was a disciple, so it didn’t cause as many ripples, but this time everyone got frightened. Who would have been powerful enough to subdue them? Wu Rong School is always known to be able to preserve their last breath, even as they’re dying, but this Elder died without even having a chance.”
“And it was done gruesomely, on top of that,” Zhen Yueyue added with a shudder. “His eyes were ripped out and his tongue was cut out.”
“A warning?”
The others turned to Wu Lingtian.
Ren Yizhou hesitated before repeating Wu Lingtian’s eerie suggestion. “Warning?”
Wu Lingtian nodded. “A member from Xiuxing Temple died and two from Wu Rong School died—both are sects that normally keep to themselves. They aren’t ostentatious and they’ve always remained out of any conflict. Not only that, they’re both medicinal sects. Unless something was happening, there would be no reason to target them at all.”
Ren Yizhou fell silent. “So, you mean to say, they must have been involved in…something?”
Wu Lingtian hummed. “Third Pillar said he overheard some type of conversation between someone and the deceased Wu Rong School disciple—perhaps there was some type of conspiracy there.”
“Oh, right, that,” Tian Xiewen sighed irritably. “So, we did end up getting that bug out and I remember more details of the night, but they’d been whispering and I wasn’t quite paying attention, so I couldn’t catch their entire conversation. All I really caught was the tail end and it was someone getting angry about not upholding their end of the deal.”
“If we work off assumptions, we could say it was the Wu Rong School’s disciple who was angry, and then whoever they were talking to killed them because they were sick of it?” Zhen Yueyue hypothesized.
“It’s a possibility,” Wu Lingtian said, his gaze lowering.
Still, it was odd. Both were medicinal sects who never bothered with the disputes in the cultivation world, yet now, three members were dead. Perhaps it didn’t involve the sect? Maybe it involved the members themselves?
“The puppet,” Ren Yizhou said, their voice soft.
“Huh? What’d you say?” Tian Xiewen looked to Ren Yizhou.
“The living puppet,” Ren Yizhou lifted their heads, concern clearly written across their face. “Could it be…the Wu Rong disciple and elder and the member from Xiuxing Temple had something to do with the puppet?”
“No way…” Zhen Yueyue shuddered. “T-then doesn’t that mean in the righteous sects there are moles?!”
“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like this sort of thing has never happened before.”
Despite saying that, Tian Xiewen’s gaze darkened. For there to be moles and for there to be infiltration in the sects, it could only mean one thing.
“But Lord Wuma doesn’t seem to be that type of person,” Zhen Yueyue said quickly. “He’s unambitious and he’s the one who has a firm grasp over the demonic cultivators in the north, isn’t he? If there was any rebellion, he would snuff it out right away.”
“And he has someone he wants at his side, so he wouldn’t make any rash movements,” Wu Lingtian said. “But it doesn’t have to be Lord Wuma.”
Silence descended on the room.
“…Then…you’re suggesting it has nothing to do with demonic cultivators?” Zhen Yueyue asked.
“As it stands now, demonic cultivators haven’t done anything outrageous to mortals or the righteous side of cultivators for a long time. There’s no need to stir conflict,” Wu Lingtian reasoned. “And most of the time, demonic cultivators only attack if their territory is being threatened. Right now, if there’s any threat to them, it’s really just Lord Wuma. Knowing their personality and tendencies, I highly doubt anyone aside from Lord Wuma has any free time to worry about righteous cultivators.
“At the end of the day, cultivators are only people,” Wu Lingtian continued. “Who’s to say there isn’t someone of the righteous faction who was tempted by their own greed and fell into a ruined path?”
“But this would cause a lot of problems,” Tian Xiewen sighed.
Righteous cultivators would always doubt it was their own causing trouble. They’d rather accuse the innocent than admit it was a problem with their own backyard. This case was especially tricky. Since the production of puppets and the usage of gu bugs were signature of demonic cultivators, the blame could easily be shifted. If it came down to it, the righteous cultivators and the demonic cultivators could very well destroy the delicate peace of the cultivation world, while the real culprit came out victorious in the end.
“Which one do you think is more likely?” Ren Yizhou asked Wu Lingtian
Two sets of eyes fell on Wu Lingtian as he lowered his gaze. “I’m not in the right position to say.”
Zhen Yueyue frowned. “What do you mean? You’ve been with the righteous sects longest. You should know if there’s anything strange going on!”
“I’m not a god,” Wu Lingtian mused. “How would I know everything that’s going on?”
Tian Xiewen sighed and waved his hand. “Forget it, forget it. This situation is bound to escalate no matter what. Besides, what can Yu Lan do even if he thinks someone’s suspicious? Nothing can be handed to Frost Cliff Pavilion or the Hall of Impartiality unless there’s solid proof.”
“I guess that’s true,” Zhen Yueyue deflated.
Wu Lingtian lowered his gaze until the door opened again.
Fan Yi brought away the other cultivators, leaving Li Qing and Wu Lingtian alone in the large room.
Li Qing tightly gripped the edge of her shirt and didn’t move an inch from the doorway. Wu Lingtian watched for a moment, before allowing his sigh to break the silence.
“Li Qing, come here.”
All these missing memories and then dropping into a coma, poor Wu Lingtian. Fan Li needs to do a most thorough physical to find out what’s wrong
It’s almost like something made Wu Lingtian into a cold, obedient disciple and then left him to his old self but took the memories with it. Was it his sword? Or whatever shattered it? PMS? Really just randomly guessing here.
THAT’S WHY WU LINGTIAN ONLY REALLY REMEMBERED FAN YI!!!!!! because it was a life-saving memory and he was determined to keep it despite the odds. ah ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ