Without any hesitation, Wei WuXian ordered, “Go!”

Lan JingYi, “Where to?”

Wei WuXian, “Follow the sounds of the bamboo pole.”

"Why would you tell them to follow it?" asked Jin Zixun.

"Because I tell them." answered Wei Wuxian.

The juniors snickered.

Jin Ling was somewhat surprised, “You want us to follow a ghost? Who knows where she’ll take us to!”

Wei WuXian, “That’s precisely what you’re going to do. The sound has been following you guys ever since you came, correct? You were trying to go into the city, but she was leading you toward the city gates, where you ran into us. She was chasing you out—she was trying to save you!”

"Yeah, he's right." said Zizhen.

"Oh wait." said Jingyi making everyone looked at him.

"Nie-jiujiu, are you forgetting something?" he asked.

"I don't." answered Nie Huaisang.

"You do. Did you forgot that you lose?" asked Jingyi.

"On what?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"The bet. You lose. You bet that the man who arrived earlier is a friend which turned to be an enemy." said Jingyi.

"Oh that." said Nie Huaisang while taking out his money pouch.

"Told you. Jiang Cheng passed down his skills in betting to his son." said Wei Wuxian making Nie Huaisang pout at him.

The strange, sporadic sounds of the bamboo pole were a technique that she used to scare people who entered the city. The Nether Brawler’s head that Wei WuXian stepped on was possibly also placed there by her to startle and alert them. Wei WuXian continued, “And, last night, she clearly wanted to tell us something really important, but couldn’t explain it. However, she disappeared as soon as Xue Yang came. She was most likely trying to avoid Xue Yang. Anyways, she definitely isn’t on the same side as him.”

"Of course not!" exclaimed Jingyi.

"They will never be." said Zizhen.

“Xue Yang?! Why is Xue Yang here as well? Wasn’t it Xiao XingChen and Song Lan?”

“Uhh, I’ll explain that later. Anyways, the one fighting with HanGuangJun inside isn’t Xiao XingChen, but Xue Yang, who pretended to be him.”

"He's kinda good for pretending as Xingchen." said Song Lan with a glare.

"Thank you." said Xue Yang in utter sarcasm.

The bamboo pole’s noises continued, as if the girl was waiting or urging them. If they followed her, they could fall into a trap; if they didn’t follow her, they’d be surrounded by corpses who release corpse-poisoning powder. It wouldn’t be much safer. The boys decisively chose to follow the knocking sounds along with Wei WuXian. Sure enough, as they moved, the sounds also moved. At times, they could see a small, vague shadow amid the thin fog in the distance, but sometimes there was nothing at all.

After running for a while, Lan JingYi spoke up, “So we are just going to run off like this?”

"What do you think?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"At least bid some goodbyes to my didi." said Lan Xichen.

"Oh! Lan Zhan will be going first." said Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji nodded his head.

"Cute." muttered MianMian.

Wei WuXian turned around and shouted, “HanGuang-Jun, it’s up to you now. We’re gonna go ahead!”

The strings of the guqin vibrated, as if someone was saying “mnn”. Wei WuXian cracked up with a pfft. Lan JingYi hesitated, “That was it? You are not going to say anything else?”

"What else?" asked Wei Wuxian.

The juniors laughed at Jingyi.

"He already doubted that time that a-die is in a relationship with you." said Sizhui making Wei Wuxian blushed.

Wei WuXian, “What else do you want me to do? What else should I say?”

Lan JingYi, “Why did you two not say ‘I’m worried about you. I’m staying!’, ‘Go!’, ‘No! I’m not going! If I’m going, you’re going with me!’? Is it not a must?”

"Where did you learned that?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"A-die." answered Jingyi while pointing at Lan Xichen.

"He is always like that to my a-niang." he added.

"What?" asked Jiang Cheng in disbelief.

"That's why you're asking if it's a must? I can't believe that?" laughed Wei Wuxian.

"My brother-in-law is clingy type." he teased while Lan Xichen smiled at him.

"Of course, I don't want my Wanyin to be away from me." said Lan Xichen while pulling Jiang Cheng into a hug.

'Damn, I'm surrounded with shameless people', thought Jiang Cheng.

Wei WuXian was left open-mouthed, “Who taught you this? Who told you that this sort of conversation must happen? It’d sound fine out of my mouth, but can you even imagine your HanGuang-Jun say such things?”

The Lan Sect’s juniors chorused, “No…”

"You guys are teaching your son on how to be romantic towards their future partner." laughed Wei Wuxian.

"We should be like that too, Lan Zhan." he added making Lan Wangji nod at him.

Wei WuXian, “Right? It’s a waste of time. I believe that someone as reliable as HanGuang-Jun will definitely be able to deal with it. I can just focus on my own things and either wait for him to find me or go find him myself.”

They followed the bamboo pole’s noises for less than fifteen minutes. After a few twists and turns, in front of them, the noises abruptly came to a halt. Wei WuXian extended his arm, stopping the boys behind him, and walked a few steps forward. A house stood alone in the fog that grew thicker and thicker.

"Oh there's a house." said Nie Huaisang.

"Yes, we can see that." said Su She sarcastically.

"Is that even safe to go to?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"We will find out." said Wei Wuxian.

“Squeak…”

Somebody pushed open the door to the house, which silently awaited the entrance of the strangers. Wei WuXian felt that something must be inside. It wouldn’t be anything dangerous or that could kill them, but something that would tell him things and show them the answers.

"I think so too." said Song Lan.

Prepare yourselves at what you're going to see." said Sizhui.

"It's not that bad, right?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"I don't think so." said Jin Ling.

He turned to the disciples, “We’ve already come this far. Let’s go in.”

He raised his foot and stepped into the house. Adjusting to the dark, he cautioned without looking back, “Watch for the threshold. Don’t trip.”

As he had expected, one of the boys almost tripped over the tall threshold. He complained, “Why is the threshold so high? It is not a temple or anything like that.”

The juniors laughed at the disciple.

"Just what is that place that it needs to have a high threshold?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"Other than temples, what other place that needs a high threshold?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"I don't know." answered Jin Zixuan.

Wei WuXian, “It’s not a temple, but it’s somewhere that also needs a high threshold.”

Hustling about, they lit up around a dozen fire talismans. The orange light of the wavering flames illuminated the entire house.

Straws were scattered on the ground, serving as a carpet. In the frontmost area, there was an altar and a few fallen stools of different heights. A small, unlit room was on the right side. Other than these, there were also seven or eight black, wooden coffins.

"Is that a coffin home?" asked MianMian.

"Maybe. That's a lot of coffins there." said Wei Wuxian.

"Why did she lead you guys there?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"Maybe for them to bury her body for her to rest in peace." said Wei Wuxian.

Jin Ling, “This is the so-called coffin home? Where dead people are temporarily put?”

Wei WuXian, “That’s right. Corpses that aren’t claimed by anyone, that would make a house ominous, or that are waiting to be buried are often put into coffin homes. It could be described as a courier station for dead people.” The smaller room on the side was probably where the person who guarded the coffin home rests.

Lan SiZhui asked, “Senior Mo, why is the threshold to the coffin home so high?”

"Maybe for the corpses." said Wei Wuxian.

"Why?" asked MianMian.

"Watch. It will show it." said Sizhui when he saw that his a-die is getting jealous when Wei Wuxian was talking to her.

Wei WuXian, “In case any corpses transform.”

Lan JingYi puzzled, “Would making a high threshold be able to prevent corpse transformation?”

"How could a threshold prevent the transformation?" asked Su She.

"No one knows." said Nie Huaisang.

Wei WuXian, “It can’t prevent corpse transformation, but it can sometimes prevent low-level corpses that have already transformed from going outside.” He went to stand in front of the threshold, “Say, for example, I’m dead and I just transformed.”

The boys nodded. He continued, “Since I just transformed, my limbs are really stiff, right? And I can’t perform certain actions?”

Jin Ling, “That goes without saying. You can’t even walk. You can’t step forward, so you can only jump…” At this point, he immediately understood.

"My nephew is an intelligent one." said Wei Wuxian.

Jin Ling was looking proud.

"That's just a basic." said Jiang Cheng msking Jin Ling glare at him.

"At least he knew. A lot of people doesn't know the basic that's why they are always put to danger." said Wei Wuxian.

Wei WuXian affirmed, “Correct. I can only jump.” With both of his feet together, he tried to jump outside. However, since the threshold was too high, he failed every attempt. Seeing how his toes bumped into the threshold, all of the disciples found the scene funny. They started laughing as they imagined a a corpse who had just transformed desperately try to jump outside like this, but get blocked by the high threshold every time.

Wei WuXian spoke again, “Do you see now? Don’t laugh. This is the intelligence of common folk. Although it’s lame and seems too simple, it’s indeed effective against low-level corpses. If a corpse who has transformed is tripped by the threshold, after they fall on the ground, with their stiff body, they won’t be able to get back up in a short time. When they’re finally able get up, either the sun will rise soon afterwards and the rooster will call, or the person guarding the coffin home will’ve discovered them. It’s actually quite impressive how ordinary people who didn’t cultivate could think of such a solution.”

"I'm learning a lot from him." said a younger disciple.

"And it looks fun to be with him." said another younger disciple.

"Fun? He will put you guys on danger and will only help when you can't really take it anymore." said Jin Ling making Wei Wuxian pout.

Although Jin Ling had laughed at the scene as well, now that he heard the explanation, he stifled his laughter at once, “Why did she bring us to a coffin home? Don’t tell me that it was because we won’t be surrounded by walking corpses if we’re here. Where did she go herself?”

"How many times should I say that Jin Ling is really the same as Jiang Cheng?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"A lot of times. Looks like every time he talks, it will always be like Jiang-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

Wei WuXian, “It’s likely that we really won’t be. We’ve been standing still for so long already. Has anyone heard any walking corpses?”

Just as he finished speaking, the ghost of the young girl appeared on top of a coffin.

"Why would she appear so sudden?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"She's not even that scary. Be brave." said Jiang Cheng.

Due to Wei WuXian’s persuasion, all of them had already seen what the girl looked like. They had even seen how she looked with bleeding eyes and a mouth without a tongue. So, now that they saw her again, nobody felt scared or uneasy. It could be seen that, precisely as what Wei WuXian had said, one would become braver and face situations with better composure after being frightened a couple of times.

"See, you guys benefited from it." said Wei Wuxian.

"Yeah, yeah." said Jin Ling.

"You don't believe? Want me to scare the hell out of you? I have so much plans in my head especially when it comes to scaring people." said Wei Wuxian.

"A-niang won't let you." said Jin Ling.

"Shijie can't stop me." said Wei Wuxian.

"Are you sure?" asked Jiang Cheng making him shut his mouth.

The girl didn’t have physical form, only a spiritual body surrounded by a soft, dim aura. Both her figure and her face were small. After some grooming, she’d become just the charming girl-next-door. However, from how she sat with her legs apart, she didn’t look delicate at all. The bamboo pole that she used as a white cane leaned on the coffin. Her two legs hung down, anxiously swinging to and fro.

"No wonder that Zizhen here is attracted to her. She's bound to be a beauty." said Nie Huaisang.

Zizhen was blushing making Jingyi look at him with a raised brow before rolling his eyes which didn't escape the gazes of mother and uncle.

As she sat on the coffin, she used her hand to tap on the lid. She then hopped down and circled around the coffin a few times, making hand gestures at them. This time, the gesture was rather easy to understand. It was the action of “opening” something. Jin Ling guessed, “She wants us to open this coffin for her?”

Lan SiZhui suggested, “Would it be that her body is inside of here? She may want us bury her and bring her peace.” This was the most logical inference, since one of the most common reasons why plenty of ghosts haunted the Earth was that their corpses weren’t buried. Wei WuXian stood on one side of the coffin, while a few boys stood on the other, intending to help him open it.

"Isn't it dangerous to just open it?" asked MianMian.

"What if it's a trap?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"There is nothing to worry about. It's not what you thought it is." said Sizhui.

"Then what is it?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"I have a bad feeling about it." said Song Lan.

He reassured them, “You don’t have to help me. Stand further back. What if it’s not a corpse and spurts out some more corpse-poisoning powder at you?”

He opened the coffin alone and lay the lid onto the ground. Looking down, he saw a corpse.

However, it wasn’t the corpse of the girl, but somebody else instead.

"Who is it then?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"Just wait and see." said Nie Mingjue.

"Sorry, I'm just excited to see who it is." said Nie Huaisang.

It was a young man. He had been put into a peaceful position with his hands folding crisscrossed together, beneath of which rested a horsetail whisk. On his body was a cultivational robe as white as snow. The silhouette of the lower half of his face, along with a pale countenance and soft-colored lips, was handsome and refined. The upper half of his face, though, was enfolded in layers and layers of bandages that totalled a width of four fingers. Under the bandages, nothing protruded from where his eyes should’ve been. The bandages sunk in instead. There weren’t eyes, only two empty hollows.

"Xingchen!" exclaimed Song Lan in disbelief.

Xiao Xingchen was silent and everyone turned to looked at Xue Yang who is clueless on what is happening.

"I died. I really died." Xiao Xingchen mumbled.

Having heard them open the coffin, the girl stumbled over. She stuck her hands into the coffin and, after some searching around, she finally felt the corpse’s face. Stomping her feet, tears of blood trickled down from her blind eyes again.

Everyone understood, without the need of any words or gestures. Placed all alone inside of a coffin home that stood all alone, this corpse was the real Xiao XingChen.

"Are the two of them friends?" asked a random cultivator.

"Or lovers." said another random cultivator.

"It cannot be. Why are you there?" asked Song Lan to his friend.

"I failed to believe this." he added, voice was low.

Ghost tears were incapable of dripping down. After the girl cried for a while, she suddenly stood up and ahh-ed at them through her clenched teeth. Appearing both angered and irritated, it was as though she really wanted to express her thoughts. Lan SiZhui asked, “Should I play Inquiry again?”

Wei WuXian, “There’s no need. It’s possible for us to ask the wrong questions, instead of the questions that she wants us to ask. And, I think that her reply will be quite complex, quite difficult to interpret.”

"If not inquiry then what?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"How will we get information?" asked Song Lan.

"Please, just watch." said Zizhen.

Although he didn’t say “you might not be able to do it”, Lan SiZhui still felt rather ashamed. He silently promised to himself, After I get back, I will study Inquiry with greater diligence. I will have to be as fluent, as quick, and as accurate as HanGuang-Jun. Lan JingYi asked, “Then what should we do?”

"No need to think like that, a-yuan. What you did earlier is already good enough. You don't have to pressure yourself just because of what I said." said Wei Wuxian.

"It's okay, a-niang. I also want to improve myself even if you won't say such thing." said Sizhui.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." said Lan Wangji and Sizhui beamed in happiness.

Wei WuXian, “How about Empathy?”

"What?" asked Jiang Cheng in disbelief.

"Are you going to do what?" he asked again with a clear anger in his voice.

"Wei Ying won't." said Lan Wangji sternly.

"Do you even know how dangerous it is?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"I'm not doing anything. Ask my future self." said Wei Wuxian with a pout.

All of the major sects specialized in various methods of gaining information and searching for material on ghosts. Empathy was the one that Wei WuXian was the best at. His method wasn’t as profound as those of the other sects. Everyone could use it. It was simply to ask the ghost to possess his own body. Using his own body as medium, he could invade the spirit’s soul and memory, hear what they heard, see what they saw, feel what they felt. If the spirit’s emotions were abnormally strong, then he’d be affected by their sorrow, their rage, their ecstasy. Thus, it was called “Empathy”.

One could say that this was the most straightforward, most convenient, and most effective method. Of course, it was even more so the most dangerous method. Everyone feared and avoided chances for ghosts to possess their body. On another level, Empathy, though, was playing with fire. The slightest mistake happened, and it would backfire. If the ghost went back on their word and used the opportunity to counter-attack, even the best result would be the seizure the Empathizer’s body.

"Wei Wuxian, you-" shouted Jiang Cheng.

"Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji.

"Geez! Why are you all looking at me?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Besides, I agree with my future self. That is the best way to get information in that kind of situation." he added.

"Do you want to die?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"A-xian." called Jiang Yanli.

"I won't do anything like that, shijie." said Wei Wuxian and glared at his future self in the screen.

Jin Ling protested, “That’s too dangerous! Using such a dark technique without someone…”

Wei WuXian broke him off, “Okay, okay. We’re running out of time. Stand up properly. Quick. We still have to go back and find HanGuang-Jun after we’re finished. Jin Ling, you’ll be the supervisor.”

"You'll let the kid supervise you?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"You're really going to do it?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Maybe." answered Wei Wuxian.

"You're dead." muttered Jiang Cheng while glaring at his brother.

"Nothing bad will happen. I assure all of you." said Wei Wuxian.

A supervisor was an indispensable part of the Empathy ritual. In case the Empathizer lost themselves in the ghost’s emotions, they needed to settle on a code with the supervisor. It was best if the code was a sentence or a voice that the Empathizer was familiar with. The supervisor must preside over the scene at all times. If they saw that the situation had changed, they’d need to act at once and pull the Empathizer out of the trance. Jin Ling pointed to himself, “Me? You want a young mast-… You want me to supervise you while you do something like this?”

Lan SiZhui, “If Young Master Jin does not want to do it, I can do it as well.”

"It's better if it's Sizhui because that's your son." said Nie Huaisang.

"We can be assured that Wei Wuxian is gking ti be safe." said Jin Zixuan.

"Are you worried about me, by any chance?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Of course not, why would I?" asked Jin Zixuan.

Wei WuXian, “Jin Ling, did you bring the Jiang Sect’s silver bell?”

The silver bell was a signature accessory of the YunmengJiang Sect. When Jin Ling was young, he was brought up by two sects. He lived at the LanlingJin Sect’s Jinlin Tower half the time, and the YunmengJiang Sect’s Lotus Pier the other half, so he should be carrying belongings from both sects. As Wei WuXian had expected, with a complicated expression on his face, he pulled out a small, simplistic bell. The Jiang Sect’s clan motif, the nine-petaled lotus, was carved onto the silver body of the bell. Wei WuXian stared at the bell for a few moments. Sensing that he looked a bit off, Jin Ling asked, “What?”

"I also have one." said Wei Wuxian.

"But in the future, you don't." said Jiang Cheng.

"How did I lose it? It's not like I will stop wearing that." said Wei Wuxian.

"You'll find out later on." said Sizhui while squeezing his hands.

Wei WuXian replied, “Nothing.” He passed the bell to Lan SiZhui, “The silver bell of the Jiang Sect can steady one’s focus and calm one’s mind. Use this as the code.”

"Is that true?" asked Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng nodded.

"That's why it is important to every Jiang disciples." he said.

"Like our forehead ribbon. It is also important to all of us." said Lan Xichen.

"What is the meaning of it, by the way?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"You should find it out on your own, a-nian." said Jingyi.

Jin Ling grabbed the bell back, “Actually, I’ll do it!”

Lan JingYi grumbled, “You did not want to do it, and now you do want to do it. With such a hot-and-cold temper, are you a young mistress?”

"Is that the time when you started calling him young mistress?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"No, I already call him that ever since we were kids." said Jingyi.

Wei WuXian turned to the girl, “Come in.”

"You really did it." said Jiang Cheng.

"Wei Yung will never do that again." said Lan Wangji.

"I promised, Lan Zhan." said Wei Wuxian while hugging the man.

"Mn." said Lan Wangji.