With a bitter smile, Wei WuXian took up Chenqing from beside his waist and placed it at his lips. With the flute’s sharp howl, pale hands broke through the dirt of the Nightless City plaza, one after another!

"Oh it's starting!" Nie Huaisang exclaimed.

"It shouldn't be this exciting knowing the tragedy it brings." said Zizhen.

"But it's Wei-daijiu. I really love to see him in action." said Jingyi.

Corpse after corpse toppled the white bricks laid on the ground, crawling out from the depths of the soil. Some of those who just mounted their swords and left the ground were immediately dragged back down by them. Wei WuXian stood atop the ridge of the Palace of Sun and Flames, eyes glowing a cold light amid the notes of the flute and the night sky. Looking down, the uniforms of the different sects seemed to be a boiling concoction of multicolored water, tossing and turning, parting at times and joining at others. Apart from the YunmengJiang Sect, all sects were jumbled. Each sect leader hurried to protect their own disciples, having no spare time to attack Wei WuXian.

"It shows that he has no intentions on hurting anyone especially the Jiang Sect." said MianMian.

"I will never bring harm to those people especially the Yunmeng Jiang Sect." said Wei Wuxian.

"Suffer those who deserve to suffer but not the people who I have interacted in a good way even in a short amount of time." he added.

Suddenly, the limpid notes of a zither interrupted Chenqing.

Wei WuXian put down Chenqing and turned around to see a person sitting on another of the ridges, guqin laid across his lap. His snow-white robes seemed to burn the eye amid the dark of the night.

"Lan Zhan, you're there." said Wei Wuxian.

"Either as a friend or a foe." he added.

"I will never be your enemy, Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji.

"I will never go against you." he added as he held the man.

"I'm glad, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian whispered.

Wei WuXian spoke in a cold voice, “Lan Zhan.” After he greeted him, he again placed his flute to his lips, “You should’ve known since long ago— Sound of Lucidity is useless to me!”

Lan WangJi flipped the guqin onto his back. Instead, he pulled out Bichen and attacked straight at Chenqing, as if he wanted to sever the flute playing such wrongful notes.

Wei WuXian spun around to dodge the attack and laughed, “Fine, fine. I knew since the start that we’d have to fight a real fight like this one sooner or later. You’ve always found me disagreeable no matter what. Come on!”

Hearing this, Lan WangJi’s movements paused, “Wei Ying!”

"The f*ck!" Jiang Cheng cursed.

"Why did you attacked him, Wangji-xiong?" Nie Huaisang asked.

"Isn't it enough for Wei Wuxian to think that we're enemies and you have to attack him?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"It's for a different reason, Jiang-jiujiu." said Sizhui.

"But, Wei Wuxian thinks different." said Jiang Cheng.

"I'm sorry." Lan Wangji apologized.

"No need to apologize, Lan Zhan. I don't think of you as an enemy even if you attacked me. Same with you, Jiang Cheng. You two will never be my enemies." said Wei Wuxian.

"Lets not dwell on it." he added.

Although he shouted the words, any sane person would be able to tell that Lan WangJi’s voice was clearly shaking. However, right now, Wei WuXian had already lost his judgement. He was already half-mad, halfunconscious. All evil was being augmented by him. He felt that everyone loathed him and he loathed everyone as well. He wouldn’t be scared no matter who came at him. It wouldn’t matter no matter who came at him. It was all the same anyway.

"He needs someone to calm him or else, it will be a tragedy, really." said Nie Huaisang.

"Only if those people stop attacking him." said Jiang Cheng.

"Even a music isn't enough to calm him." he added.

Suddenly, amid the battle noises, Wei WuXian heard a faint voice.

The voice was shouting, “A-Xian!”

Like a bucket of ice-cold water, the voice doused the vile flames raging within his heart.

Jiang YanLi?

When did she come to the pledge conference?!

"Shijie? What are you doing there?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"A-jie, it's not a place for you to present. What are you doing there? It will put you in danger." said Jiang Cheng.

"You shouldn't be there." said Jin Zixuan.

"Such recklessness, a-li." said Madam Yu.

"It really does flow in their blood. This Yunmeng siblings." said Wen Qing.

Wei WuXian was immediately half dead with fright. He couldn’t care about the fight with Lan WangJi any longer and put down Chenqing, “Shijie?!”

Jiang Cheng heard the voice as well. In an instant, his face had turned white, “Sis? Sis! Where are you? Where are you?”

Wei WuXian jumped down the ridge of the palace, shouting with just as much force as Jiang Cheng, “Shijie? Shijie? Where are you? I can’t see you!”

"Hurry up! Find her!" Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan shouted.

"Please keep her safe." Jin Ling whispered even though it's already impossible.

He couldn’t care less about the swords and arrows that came at him. With his bare hands, he fought his way through the frenzied crowd as he walked as fast as possible. Suddenly, he saw Jiang YanLi’s white figure sunken within the people.Wei WuXian went forth and tried to push away those who blocked his path, but it was difficult for him to move. There was still a large distance between them, formed by countless people. At the moment, it was impossible for Wei WuXian to rush over, and it was the same for Jiang Cheng. At this point, both of the two realized that behind Jiang YanLi’s back, a fierce corpse had stood shakily up.

The corpse’s body was already half-rotten. It dragged a rusting sword in his hand as it slowly approached Jiang YanLi.

"Oh dear." MianMian muttered.

"Stay away! Stay away from my sister!" Jiang Cheng shouted.

"Get lost! Get lost you f*cking ugly corpse!" Wei Wuxian shouted.

"A-li." Jin Zixuan whispered.

"A-niang." Jin Ling sobs as he hug his mother tightly.

"I'm still here." Jiang Yanli whispered.

Watching the scene of terror unfold, Wei WuXian’s voice was harsh, “Get lost! Get lost right now! Don’t touch her!”

Jiang Cheng roared as well, “Make it go away!”

He tossed out Sandu. Purple light flew toward the corpse, but in midway, the glare was obstructed by other cultivators’ swords, deviating from its original direction. The more Wei WuXian panicked, the less control he had.

"F*ck!" Jiang Cheng cursed.

"Why can't that corpse go away?" he asked.

"Shijie, stay away from that corpse." Wei Wuxian said.

"Shijie, shijie, shijie." he repeated with a shaking voice.

The corpse ignored his command and instead lifted the sword in its hand, slashing it down at Jiang YanLi!

Wei WuXian had lost it, dashing as he shouted, “Stop it, stop it, right now, stop it!”

Everyone was busy with dealing with the corpses around them. Nobody had the spare time to see if another’s life was in danger. The sword in the corpse’s hand swung down and slashed open Jiang YanLi’s back!

Jiang YanLi fell to the ground.

"Shijie/A-Jie/A-li." the three shouted.

"F*ck that corpse!" Jiang Cheng cursed.

"I will beat him to dust." he added as tears rolled down his eyes.

Jin Zixuan held Jiang Yanli in his embrace.

"I will destroy him." Wei Wuxian said with anger.

"It's your fault in the first place." said Su She in which he received all the glares from everyone.

"You better shut the f*ck up." Jiang Cheng blasted him to the wall with Zidian.

"You didn't have to comment in the first place. How is it Wei Wuxian's fault when all he wanted was to get her out of danger. You f*cking man with a f*cking useless brain." he said.

Wei Wuxian is shaking badly when he heard it.

"Don't blame yourself, a-niang. It isn't your fault." said Sizhui.

Standing behind her back, the corpse raised its sword again. Suddenly, a sword glare sliced off half of its body!

Lan WangJi landed amid the plaza, catching Bichen which he summoned back. Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng could finally hurry over. They couldn’t even manage to thank Lan WangJi. Jiang Cheng first picked up Jiang YanLi, while Lan WangJi stopped Wei WuXian.

Seizing his collar, he dragged Wei WuXian in front of him, his voice hard, “Wei Ying! Stop the corpses!”

"Lan Zhan, I don't think I can stop them in that situation." said Wei Wuxian.

"But still, thank you for killing that corpse." he said.

"It's nothing, it's necessary." said Lan Wangji.

At the moment, Wei WuXian couldn’t care about anything else. Reflected in his eyes wasn’t Lan WangJi’s face, much less the veins of blood within Lan WangJi’s eyes or the redness that surrounded his eyes. He only wanted to see if Jiang YanLi was fine. With red eyes, he pushed him away and rushed to the ground. With the push, Lan WangJi staggered a bit, and gazed at him after he steadied himself. Before he could do anything else, he suddenly heard another scream of help in the distance. He suppressed whatever was in his eyes and went to provide assistance.

"I'm sorry, Lan Zhan." said Wei Wuxian.

"You don't have to apologize Wei Ying, I understand." said Lan Wangji.

Jiang YanLi’s back was dyed in blood. Her eyes were closed, but fortunately she was still breathing. Trembling, Jiang Cheng took back the hand that he used to feel for her pulse, letting out a breath of relief. He threw a sudden punch toward Wei WuXian’s face, shouting, “What happened?! Didn’t you say you could control it?! Didn’t you say it’d be fine?!”

"What the f*ck is wrong with my future self?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"We don't know either. Maybe he just trusted Wei-xiong that nothing will go wrong despite the situation." said Nie Huaisang.

"Who would expect that something like this will happen?" he asked.

"The moment Jiang Yanli entered the place, I knew that something will happen to her. She died in the future, right? So maybe it was this time." said Wen Qing.

Wei WuXian sat collapsed on the ground, his face blank, “… I don’t know either.” In despair, he continued, “… I can’t control it, I just can’t control it…”

"You can't control it because you're in turmoil. Your mind doesn't focus on control when you're panicking." said Wen Qing.

"It's not your fault, a-xian." said Jiang Yanli.

"You shouldn't be there in the first place." said Madam Yu.

"Can it be at least that one of you stop being reckless? Life isn't something you should just throw in front of danger." she added.

"Think about your son." she said.

Suddenly, Jiang YanLi moved. Holding her tightly, Jiang Cheng hurried, however incoherent, “Sister! It’s fine! It’s fine, how are you feeling? It’s not that bad, just a single gash, not that bad. I’ll take you down right now…”

"It feels like I wasn't able to take her down, out of that place." said Jiang Cheng.

"Because you didn't." Jin Ling whispered.

As he spoke, he was about to pick up Jiang YanLi when she spoke up, “… A-Xian.”

Wei WuXian felt shivers go down his spine, “Shijie, I… I’m here.”

Slowly, Jiang YanLi opened her dark eyes. Wei WuXian felt fear rumble within him.

Jiang YanLi managed, “… A-Xian. Before… why did you run away so fast… I didn’t even get the chance to look at you, or say something to you…”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian’s heart beat fast.

"Say what?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"Shijie, it will be much more better if you let Jiang Cheng take you out of that place." he said.

"What if it will be the last time we will see each other?" Jiang Yanli asked.

"It seemed that I have something very important to tell you." she said.

"You can tell me anytime. Lets keep you safe first." said Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Yanli could only smile at him.

He still didn’t dare look at Jiang YanLi’s face. Right then, the face was the same as Jin ZiXuan’s back then, covered in dust and blood. He was even more scared to hear the words she was about to say.

Jiang YanLi, “I’m… I’m here to tell you…”

To tell him what?

That it’s fine?

That I don’t hate you?

That everything is fine?

That I don’t blame you for have killed Jin ZiXuan?

It was impossible.

"I don't blame you, a-xian. I will never." said Jiang Yanli.

"Why would I blame my brother who didn't do anything but only want best for me?" she asked.

"Shijie, I don't want to lose." Wei Wuxian sobs.

"You'll always have me, a-xian. In your heart." said Jiang Yanli.

"Shijie." he sobs as he run to Jiang Yanli.

Jin Zixuan have to broke his embrace on her in order for him to hug his sister.

"A-jie." Jiang Cheng joined them.

But she couldn’t say anything that was the opposite either. And so, she didn’t know what else she could say to Wei WuXian, under such circumstances. It was just that she felt like she had to see this brother of hers once more.

Jiang YanLi sighed, “A-Xian, you… you should stop first. Don’t, don’t…”

Wei WuXian hurried, “Yes, I’ll stop.”

He took up Chenqing, placed it by his lips, and began to play. He only managed to steady his mind with great effort. This time, the corpses finally stopped ignoring his commands. One after another, strange gurgles echoed in their throats as if they were complaining. Slowly, they bent down.

Lan WangJi paused slightly, looking over from afar. Immediately after, he continued to attack, helping those who were still in the fight, whether they be from his own sect or not.

"So, only Yanli-jiejie who could calm him." said Nie Huaisang.

"Wei Wuxian only listens to her. No more argument when it comes to her." said Wen Qing.

"You'll be safe now, shijie." said Wei Wuxian.

"A-xian, a-cheng. I love the both you." Jiang Yanli sobs.

Suddenly, Jiang YanLi’s eyes opened wide. Her hands conjured up an explosive current of strength from nowhere and pushed Wei WuXian hard!

Wei WuXian was pushed onto the ground again by the force. The next time he looked up, he saw the gleaming blade of a sword pierce through her throat.

"What?" Jiang Cheng asked in shock.

Everyone froze at the scene.

"A-niang." Only Jin Ling's cries can be heard.

A moment later, scream could be heard. A broken one.

"Shijie!" Wei Wuxian cried.

"A-xian, breathe. Breathe, a-xian. Shijie is still here." Jiang Yanli tried to calm him down.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji called in worry.

The man is trembling with his tears keep on rolling down as he held on his sister dress.

"Breathe, a-xian. You have to breathe." said Jiang Yanli.

"Get out of the way." said Wen Qing as he checked the man.

Suddenly, she pinned a needle on Wei Wuxian's head making the man unconscious.

"He will suffer an early qi deviation if he wouldn't stop." she said.

Lan Wangji cradle the man back on his seat.

"A-niang!" Jingyi screamed.

"Jiang Wanyin." Wen Qing called as the man suddenly lose his consciousness with blood dripping from his nose.

"F*ck this." she cursed.

"Too much. It's too much for them to take. Even if they prepared themselves for this, the emotion are still too much for them to take." said MianMian.

"That's their sister." she added.

"I need someone to give Jiang Wanyin some spiritual energy. He have entered the early stage of qi deviation." said Wen Qing.

"I'm here. Give Wanyin to me." said Lan Xichen.

"This isn't supposed to happen." said Sizhui.

"Don't worry, those two hardheaded men just needs some rest." said Wen Qing.

The boy holding the sword was the young cultivator who cried over the disciple who had shot the arrow. He was still crying, eyes covered in tears, “You thief! This is for my brother!”

"Damn that man. Because of him, Yanli-jiejie died." said Nie Huaisang.

"It was supposed to be for Wei Wuxian." said Sect Leader Yao.

"Do you think she will just let her brother get stab in front of her?" Nie Huaisang asked.

"Besides, it's his brother's fault why he died." he said.

Sitting on the dirty ground, Wei WuXian stared with disbelief at Jiang YanLi, whose head had already dipped, blood trickling ceaselessly from her neck.

He was still waiting for her to speak, to give him his final judgement.

Jiang Cheng was at a loss as well, arms still wrapped around his sister’s body. He hadn’t completely realized what happened yet.

A moment later, finally, Wei WuXian let out a bitter scream.

"Oh a-cheng, a-xian." Jiang Yanli mumbled.

"Why do they love to sacrifice for each other so much?" Wen Qing asked.

"Is that their love language?" she added.

"Oh hush, my dear niece. You do the same." said Wen Rouhan.

Lan WangJi finished his attack before he spun around.

The boy finally realized that he killed the wrong person. He pulled out the sword, along with a series of bloody spurts. With fright, he staggered back, mumbling, “… I-It wasn’t me, it wasn’t… I was going to kill Wei WuXian, I was going to avenge my brother… She was the one who threw herself over on her own!”

Wei WuXian shot toward him and clenched his neck. Sect Leader Yao waved his sword, “Demon, let him go!”

"How dare you call him demon?" Qingheng-jun asked.

"My son-in-law isn't one." he said.

"So, if you're in his situation and you do the same, would like others call you demon? What kind of thinking is that?" he asked.

"Think before you speak about my son-in-laws. I wouldn't accept it." he warned.

Lan WangJi couldn’t care about appearance or mannerisms any longer.

One after another, he pushed those who blocked his path to the side, sprinting toward Wei WuXian. But before he was even halfway there, under everyone’s eyes, Wei WuXian snapped the boy’s neck with his bare hands.

"Damn." Nie Huaisang said.

"Wei-xiong is really mad. He's going to lose all his control." he added.

"Do you think, seeing your sister died in front of you, you'll still have control? I can even say that it will be much more worse if Jiang Wanyin will be in rage, too. That man wouldn't just have a broken neck, maybe all his bones." said Jin Zixuan.

"That's how I realized the madness of the two. They're cruel when they have to. Unforgiving, no mercy, full of torture." he added.

"But most of all, my brothers are kind." Jiang Yanli said with a smile.

"Only if you deserve such kindness." she added.

A white-haired sect leader raged, “You! Back then… you caused the deaths of Jiang FengMian and his wife, and now you caused the death of your shijie. You suffered from your own actions, and yet you dared vent your anger on another! Instead of turning around, you took yet another life. Wei WuXian, your crimes—shall never be forgiven!”

"How is the death of me and my lady caused by a-xian?" Jiang Fengmian asked.

"Those who are not involve at the incident shouldn't said such thing." he added.

"That's what rumors said." said Zizhen.

"Rumors won't bring anything goo." said Wen Rouhan.

"That's what ruined Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan's relationship in the first place." he added.

"This people, they need to be punished." said Qingheng-jun.

"For putting false blame." he added.

Yet, no matter the criticism, the blame, Wei WuXian could no longer hear any of them. As if governed by another soul, he reached out and took two objects from within his sleeves. Before everyone’s eyes, he put them together. One half on top and the other below, the two objects snapped into one, letting out a resonating clang.

Wei WuXian placed it on his palm and raised it high into the air.

It was the Stygian Tiger Seal!

"Are we going to see the power of that seal?" Nie Huaisang asked.

"Only Jiang Yanli could calm him yet it's only her who could also make him lose sanity, making him do that." said Wen Rouhan.

"They shouldn't blame him, it was their fault why he did it. If they didn't harm his dearest sister then maybe they all could get out of there alive." he added.

"So, Wei-xiong is accountable for what he did yet all of them are also accountable for they are the reason why he did it." said Nie Huaisang.

"How complicated their world is." he added.