“I thought you would want your personal space,” Fan Yi said as his eyes scanned the map.
Wu Lingtian glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. “If I can’t be your sword, then I might as well submit to my life of being your body pillow.”
Fan Yi looked up at met Wu Lingtian’s gaze. He smiled and gave the man beside him a light nudge with his shoulder. “Now that is something I can be grateful for.”
Wu Lingtian suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and shifted closer to look at the map. “I think the rouge shop was at the end of this street, so we should be making a left there.”
Fan Yi tucked the map away and glanced up at the sky. The clouds that lingered from yesterday had already dispersed, leaving a clear, blue sky. However, the slight chill remained in the air, making Fan Yi a bit uncomfortable. Even if his robes had a heat retention spell imbedded throughout the threads, it still felt like nothing could keep the cold away.
He massaged his fingers in hopes it would help a bit of the heat return, but his fingertips still remained ice cold.
“What do we do if the undertaker also refuses to help?” Fan Yi asked.
“If the undertaker also doesn’t want to give us any information,” Wu Lingtian glanced at Fan Yi’s hands, “Then, I guess we’ll have to find another way to examine the corpses.”
Fan Yi froze. He looked at Wu Lingtian with a raised brow as the other man reached into his Qiankun bag. “Other ways? What sort of ways?”
“Sect Leader, why are you smiling like that?”
“Like what?” Fan Yi grinned. “I’m just curious about what these ‘other ways’ are, that’s all.”
Wu Lingtian glanced at Fan Yi as he pulled out a handheld brazier. “There’s only one other way to examine corpses if you can’t speak to an undertaker.”
Fan Yi pursed his lips as his eyes lit up. “What about not disturbing the dead?”
“They’re without souls,” Wu Lingtian opened the top of the brazier and threw in a flame talisman before handing it over to Fan Yi. “There’s nothing to disturb even if we dig them up.”
Fan Yi’s smile stiffened for a moment as he received the brazier. An unfound warmth coursed through his hands the moment it was handed over. He glanced at the brazier and then at Wu Lingtian’s passive expression. His lips slowly curved again.
“I never thought I would hear such a sentence from Lord Yu Lan,” Fan Yi let out an emotional sigh.
“If I had to deal with a case where there was a lack of cooperation and the people had lost their souls, I would have done the same thing before.”
“Really?” Fan Yi raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
Wu Lingtian fell silent. He turned to his companion and looked rather serious, “I’m an amnesiac, but I can safely say it’s true.”
“What if there was some type of extraneous circumstance where someone refused to let you dig up their deceased family member or friend but you really needed to look at the corpse,” Fan Yi asked. “Would you?”
“Yes.”
“Reason being?”
“If I really needed it, then that means the only clue to bringing justice forth for the deceased is to hear it directly from the deceased’s mouth,” Wu Lingtian said.
Fan Yi narrowed his eyes as a lazy smile graced his face. “Then, you wouldn’t do it if it were just an easy way out?”
Wu Lingtian frowned slightly as he thought about it.
Fan Yi’s smile grew. “You’re hesitating.”
“If it were just an easy way out, I would also hesitate,” Wu Lingtian admitted. “However, I most likely wouldn’t do it. Besides, it’s a rare chance that you could actually call someone’s soul back since you have to do it before a specific time.”
“Oh, then, if it was after the specific time?”
“I don’t have the skills to do that sort of magic,” Wu Lingtian said. He glanced at Fan Yi. “Why the questions?”
“I want to see how far you’ve been corrupted,” Fan Yi shook his head. “Seems like you still have morals.”
“Screeching Sparrow Sect does not lack morals, we just lack rules,” Wu Lingtian said. “Even Li Qing would know indiscriminately digging up corpses and trying to recall one’s soul isn’t right.”
A soft chuckle entered Wu Lingtian’s ears. “That’s true.”
The undertaker wasn’t too far away from the inn. After passing a few streets, they found a shop that was tucked into a corner. It was nondescript, but also had the heavy air of death around it. The street that it was on didn’t have any shops that people would normally go to and seemed to be either empty or used for storage.
Wu Lingtian stepped into the shop and looked around. The moment they stepped in, they heard a short sigh. The man ducked back into his shop to retrieve a record book and reemerged with the sound of a tinkling bell that followed his footsteps. The man, seemingly middle-aged, stepped behind the counter and shifted his gaze between Wu Lingtian and Fan Yi.
“What brings you two gentlemen here today?” the man asked with a lazy drawl as he set the book down onto the counter.
“We’re cultivators who just happened to pass through this town,” Wu Lingtian said. He paused for a moment, but seeing the lack of reaction, he continued, “We heard about the peculiar deaths that have been happening, so we decided to investigate. We came here to ask if you have any records of the state of the corpses of those deceased.”
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.
“Ah, if you’re talking about those, there’s nothing,” the man said with a wave of his hand.
“Rbatlcu?”
“Yup. Nothing,” the undertaker yawned. “Mm…well, I guess not nothing, since that would seem strange, but they were just like your regular corpse. Oh, wait, not, there was one thing strange.”
“Qtja’r atja?” Qe Olcualjc jrxfv.
“Qfii, atflg ojwlis wfwyfgr kbeiv rjs atfs vlfv atf cluta yfobgf, yea ktfc P kfca ab qgfqjgf atflg ybvlfr obg yeglji, la ofia ilxf atfs tjv yffc vfjv obg ibcufg,” atf ecvfgajxfg rtgeuufv.
“Tbe cfnfg jrxfv jybea atlr?”
“P vlv ja atf yfulcclcu, yea P uba sfiifv ja fjmt alwf,” atf ecvfgajxfg fzqijlcfv. “Ktfs’v rjs atja atfs kfca ab mtfmx eq bc atfw fnfgs vjs; lo atfs tjv vlfv j ofk vjsr qglbg, atfc cjaegjiis atfs kbeiv xcbk. Ktfs rjs sbe cfnfg jguef klat j uglfnlcu ojwlis, sbe xcbk. Ccv atfgf kjrc’a jcs fnlvfcmf bo obei qijs—cba ab wfcalbc, fjmt bcf bo atf qfbqif ktb vlfv mjwf ogbw j ibnlcu ojwlis—rb P pera ifa la ub joafg j ktlif. Dea la jikjsr lgxfv wf.”
“Was that the only thing strange?” Wu Lingtian asked.
“Mm…” the undertaker leaned against the counter and scratched the back of his head. “Well, that’s about all I can remember.”
“And were they cremated or were they buried?”
“They were buried,” the undertaker said.
“Could we look at their bodies?” Wu Lingtian asked.
“Mm…well, listen, Mr. Cultivators,” the undertaker straightened, “this isn’t something that I can decide. This is a matter for the families to decide and…well, seeing as you came to me to inquire about information, that must mean Master Zhao had already refused to see you. So, this matter…”
“We understand,” Wu Lingtian said. “Is there a way you could give us information on the families of the deceased?”
“That…” the undertaker let out a long sigh.
Fan Yi glanced at Wu Lingtian. Seeing the other’s downcast expression, he felt his heart pinch slightly. He looked back to the undertaker with a frown and rapped his knuckle on the counter. The undertaker looked up at Fan Yi as Fan Yi placed a few spirit stones onto the table. The undertaker’s eyes widened a fraction, but still kept his composure and cleared his throat.
“Listen, Mr. Cultivator, I really shouldn’t—”
Fan Yi took out a few more.
“…It’s against the rules…”
Fan Yi sighed and scooped a few more and placed them onto the counter, successfully forming a mound. He leaned against the counter and fiddled with one of the stones. “Listen, we don’t want to make your job difficult for you. We understand that it might be against the rules, but we’re also trying to help this town out. If there’s no one left here, then what’s the point of rules anyway?”
“You’re quite right, my lord,” the undertaker said, his eyes trained on the pile of spiritual stones.
“Right. So, to ease your conscience, you should just accept this small payment,” Fan Yi pushed the stones over. “And then give us a list of who we can go to for actual information.”
The undertaker reached out, but was stopped by Fan Yi’s hand. He looked up at the smiling face.
“List first,” Fan Yi said.
The undertaker nodded and rushed to the back. When he returned, there was a neatly written list of the people who had experienced a death in their family under similar circumstances. Only after receiving the list did Fan Yi remove his hand and allow the undertaker to take his payment.
Fan Yi handed the list to Wu Lingtian and the two left the funeral home.
Wu Lingtian looked at the list and then to Fan Yi. “You didn’t have to.”
“How else would we have gotten information out of him?”
“We could have just asked around,” Wu Lingtian said.
“And who answers us? Besides, think about how long that would take. If we actually did that, someone else would have died in that time,” Fan Yi said. He glanced at Wu Lingtian. “What? Does your heart ache for my wallet?”
“…Where did you even get that money?” Wu Lingtian asked.
“I had funds prepared for my trip, alright?” Fan Yi said. He furrowed his brows at Wu Lingtian’s skeptical expression. “We’re not that poor.”
“…We can just use my money from now on,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Your money? Did you retain your wealth from when you were at Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect?”
“I kept everything in my Qiankun pouch, so whatever Third Pillar and you managed to grab from my room is what I have.”
Fan Yi paused and turned to look at the younger man again. “Everything?”
Wu Lingtian nodded. “All my valuables.”
“You weren’t scared of anyone trying to rob you?” Fan Yi asked.
“My Qiankun pouch only opens when I try to open it,” Wu Lingtian explained.
“…It must be nice to come from a wealthy sect,” Fan Yi slowly turned away. He sighed. “When will I get to experience that luxury in my life?”
“You could start charging people more when they ask for help,” Wu Lingtian suggested.
“No. No, no,” Fan Yi shook his head. “Being poor is also a way of life.”
“…Shall I reimburse you?”
“No, it’s fine. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with how heavy my wallet was.”
“…But it’s in your Qiankun pouch.”
“It was weighing on my conscience.”
A soft snort came from beside Fan Yi. When the sect leader glanced over, he found Wu Lingtian with his lips in a straight line and the familiar wooden expression on his face. A warmed hand left the handheld brazier and pinched Wu Lingtian’s cheek.
“What’s this? If you want to laugh, then throw your head back and laugh. I won’t be offended.”
Wu Lingtian shook his head. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before reaching into his Qiankun pouch. Fan Yi watched him out of the corner of his eyes. At first, he was sure Wu Lingtian would pull out a handful of gold and suddenly hand it over, but, instead, a navy black pouch with gold embroidery appeared. He tucked it into Fan Yi’s hands, which were still holding the brazier, with a subtle smile on his face.
“This is a spare I have that I haven’t used. Sect Leader can have this pouch.”
“Tsk,” Fan Yi sighed as he turned the Qiankun pouch around in his hand. “Trying to buy off my sadness with your spare??”
Wu Lingtian reached again into his bag and pulled out a piece of candy. “To melt away your troubles.”
Fan Yi raised a brow and looked between the piece of candy between Wu Lingtian’s fingers and the man himself. The younger man observed Fan Yi’s expression for a moment. He bowed his head and unwrapped the piece of candy. He lifted it and held it out to the sect leader who still put on an air of haughtiness.
The candy was nipped from Wu Lingtian’s fingertips. Without even looking too closely, anyone could see that Fan Yi was holding back his laughter.
“That’s more like it.”
“Anything for my sect leader,” Wu Lingtian bowed his head humbly. A muffled guffaw met Wu Lingtian’s ears. The younger man glanced at Fan Yi’s grinning face and rolled his eyes with a small smile against his lips. “Truly, too ridiculous.”
Fan Yi squeezed the Qiankun pouch in his hands, “Thank you, A-Tian, I’ll put this to good use.”
“Whatever pleases you, Sect Leader,” Wu Lingtian smiled. “You could even toss it away if you want.”
“My goodness,” Fan Yi swung the pouch around his finger, “You sound like someone trying to coax his little lover.”
Wu Lingtian glanced at Fan Yi again. He leaned down to get a little closer before whispering, “Do you want to be my little lover?”
Fan Yi met his gaze.
Wu Lingtian pursed his lips to compose himself before speaking again, “I have a lot of money.”
“Pft—”
Wu Lingtian pulled back in satisfaction as Fan Yi keeled over in laughter. Although the two men continued walking, Fan Yi eventually slowed to a stop. He shook his head and tried to keep his laughter to a volume that was acceptable while in public, but his eyes had reddened from holding in his laughter and the look he used to stare down Wu Lingtian fully displayed his sentiments.
“You—how could you actually say such a thing with a straight face?” Fan Yi managed to squeak out.
“Well, it isn’t a lie, nor is it an exaggeration,” Wu Lingtian said without breaking his wooden expression.
Fan Yi laughed harder and shook his head.
“In fact, if you really wanted to, we could just stop being cultivators and I could still raise you,” Wu Lingtian continued.
“You—stop it,” Fan Yi muffled his laughter.
Wu Lingtian looked at Fan Yi seriously. “This is my sincere heart.”
“Your eyes are obviously telling me you’re joking!” Fan Yi pushed Wu Lingtian lightly.
A smile finally emerged from Wu Lingtian’s lips. He turned away and glanced at the list of names in his hands, as well as the directions to their homes.
“Sect Leader’s laugh is nice, so I wanted to hear more of it.”
The words were barely uttered and, amongst the crowd, were quickly lost to the noise. Fan Yi looked to Wu Lingtian questioningly. “Did you say something?”
Wu Lingtian smiled. “Nothing. The first house is right over here.”
Fan Yi watched Wu Lingtian for a moment, but seeing that his expression didn’t change, he eventually let the topic go.
The home they approached was nothing of note. It was like any of the other houses and was just as well kept. Even the reaction they had was the same as the head of the town. With just a knock on the door and one sentence exchanged, the door was slammed back in their faces, leaving Wu Lingtian with his mouth still hanging open.
The white-robed man composed himself again and knocked once more. “Excuse me, this is an urgent situation. It would be nice if you could just answer a few of our questions. Please.”
There was no response at all.
Wu Lingtian knocked a few more times, but after the third time, Fan Yi finally dragged Wu Lingtian away and the pair ventured to the second house.
The second house was a bit more amicable.
Wu Lingtian managed to get past the fact that he and Fan Yi were cultivators. However, when it came to asking about whether or not they could examine their son’s body, they were obviously rejected.
“Then, do you remember anything else strange about him before he died?” Wu Lingtian asked.
The weary couple glanced at each other. It was clear that they felt reluctant to bring up such a dreary topic again. After all, it hadn’t been too long since their son had passed and they were still in mourning. Still, no matter how reluctant, the couple attempted to recall anything that could be noted as “strange”.
“Perhaps, how his eyes looked,” Wu Lingtian prompted. “Or his fingernails. Were they black around the edges at all?”
The husband and wife shook their heads.
“There really wasn’t anything paranormal about our son,” the husband said tiredly. He paused a moment before speaking again, “Though, I do remember the last time he had a reaction to anything.”
“And that was?” Wu Lingtian asked excitedly.
“It was to the sound of a bell,” the husband said. “The type of bells you’d find on children’s toys. We had brought him out to get him some fresh air when some of the kids in the neighborhood ran by with a bell attached to the toy. He didn’t have a great reaction to it.”
“What’d he do?” Fan Yi asked.
“He…he seemed scared of it,” the husband recalled. He showed a pained expression. “After that, we didn’t bring him out anymore. He was more adamant about staying inside and we didn’t want to…to cause him anymore pain.”
Wu Lingtian nodded slowly. He glanced between the husband and wife. If there really was anything else, they clearly wouldn’t be able to get it out of this grieving couple.
“Thank you,” Wu Lingtian said.
The wife shook her head. She looked between the two men, “Thank you two. I know…everyone in this town is a bit aggressive towards cultivators, but it means a lot that you two are still helping. If something like what happened to our son happened to someone else again, it…”
Wu Lingtian nodded. “I understand. We’ll try our best.”
The wife nodded and stepped back inside with the guidance of her husband. The man bowed his head and closed the door behind them, leaving Wu Lingtian and Fan Yi on the streets.
Fan Yi looked up at the sky and then glanced back down at the list. “There’s four more houses. I think the next one is…what’s wrong?”
Wu Lingtian shook his head. “I was just thinking, Sect Leader, isn’t there a demonic cultivation technique that allows you to control fierce corpses through the ringing of a bell?”
Fan Yi frowned. “That’s indeed true, but the hun still has to be summoned back in order for a fierce corpse to be created. According to what we know, the victims exhibit symptoms of losing their hun, so the reaction to the bell…shouldn’t have anything to do with becoming a fierce corpse.”
Wu Lingtian’s brows furrowed. “What if the hun wasn’t taken, but was sealed?”
“Sealed? But didn’t you see the jeweler’s daughter?”
“I did, but…how else would that explain the reaction to the bell?”
Fan Yi shook his head. “If you think someone had lost their hun, then they must have just lost their hun. If it was sealed, you would have sensed it.”
“But something that is not a fierce corpse, but reacts to the sound of the bell? How could that happen?”
“There have been stranger things in the world. Who knows? Maybe another psychopath has made their debut,” Fan Yi shrugged.
“Sect Leader,” Wu Lingtian’s frown deepened. “This is serious.”
“A-Tian,” Fan Yi sighed, “It’s serious, but what we need to do now is figure out how to stop the phenomenon in this town. The two things are definitely connected anyway—if we find out how to stop it, we’ll find out what the deal is with the bell along the way.”
Wu Lingtian still hesitated. “How about we go back to the jeweler’s home first?”
Fan Yi observed Wu Lingtian for a moment before nodding. “Alright, let’s go to the jeweler’s home first.”
Wu Liangtian honestly offering to be Fan Yi’s body pillow, little lover and raising him too cute but also sad since it was taken as a jest
Thank you for chapter
thanks for reading 😀
Hahaha Wu Lingtian pretending to lure Fan Yi with wealth 😂 I didn’t expect that much of a reaction though! And I just remembered what they said before about how Fan Yi fears(?) cold. Is it internal? Whatever, it works out great for Wu Lingtian.
fan yi’s issues are revealed more in later chapters! (and probably more in an extra tbh since some character info doesn’t fit the flow 💀)
In the meantime I will fully enjoy whenever Wu Lingtian warms him up 🤤