Wei Wuxian's eyes sparkled with mischief as he addressed the gathered crowd. "Oh, so you're saying there are man-eating monsters lurking in those parts?"

He had heard similar tales countless times before, and had personally vanquished over a hundred such creatures. The prospect of yet another such encounter left him feeling rather unimpressed. The medicine peddler, however, continued with dramatic flair, his voice rising and falling like a seasoned storyteller:

"Indeed! It is said that deep within the Lin Ling forest, there stands a sinister structure known as the 'Man-Eating Castle.' Within its walls dwell monstrous beings with an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Any unfortunate soul who stumbles upon this place is devoured so thoroughly that not even a sliver of bone remains. No trace is ever found of the victims. Terrifying, is it not?"

Wei Wuxian nodded thoughtfully. It was no wonder Jin Ling had appeared in these parts. Having failed to subdue the Soul-Devouring Goddess of Mount Dafan, the young cultivator was undoubtedly here to face the monsters of Xinglu Ridge. With an air of feigned innocence, Wei Wuxian pressed further:

"How utterly horrifying! But if there truly are no remains, not even a fragment of bone, how can anyone be certain these unfortunate individuals were eaten?"

The medicine peddler faltered for a moment before responding, "Well, of course, someone must have witnessed it."

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened in exaggerated admiration. "But didn't you just say that all who stumble upon the castle are consumed without exception? Who could have possibly witnessed such gruesome scenes and lived to spread the tale?"

The peddler's confident demeanor began to crumble. "That's... that's just how rumors spread. How am I to know the specifics?"

Undeterred, Wei Wuxian pressed on, his tone both playful and relentless. "Then perhaps you can enlighten us on some other details? How many people have fallen victim to this castle? When did these incidents occur? What were the ages of the victims? Their genders? Names? Places of origin?"

"I... I don't know," the peddler stammered, his earlier bravado evaporating.

Wei Wuxian leaned in closer, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. "And here I thought you were Qinghe's renowned 'Knower of a Hundred Things.' Hmm?"

Flustered and irritated, the peddler began to gather his wares. "The rumor doesn't include such specifics!"

"Wait, wait!" Wei Wuxian called out, barely containing his amusement. "Just one last question. This Xinglu Ridge, it's still within Qinghe's borders, isn't it? And isn't Qinghe under the jurisdiction of the Nie clan? If there truly were man-eating monsters terrorizing Xinglu Ridge, would the Nie clan simply stand idly by?"

To Wei Wuxian's surprise, the peddler's expression shifted from frustration to a hint of contempt. "The Nie clan? Ha! If this were the Nie clan of old, they would have swiftly eradicated any such threat. News of demonic activity would barely have time to spread before they'd have razed the place to the ground. But now? With that 'Three Nos' in charge?"

Wei Wuxian's curiosity was piqued. "Three Nos? What do you mean by that?"

The peddler, sensing an attentive audience, eagerly explained. "You haven't heard? That's what they call the current Nie clan leader. When people ask him about anything, he either doesn't know, won't say if he does know, or is too afraid to speak up. Push him hard enough, and he'll just shake his head and cry, 'I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know!' begging to be left alone. Hence, 'Three Nos' - no knowledge, no comment, no backbone!"

As the peddler spoke, memories flooded back to Wei Wuxian. He and Nie Huaisang had been classmates once, and he knew the man well enough to speak on his character. Nie Huaisang wasn't unkind, nor was he truly unintelligent. However, his cleverness was seldom applied to cultivation or leadership. Instead, he had always preferred to spend his time painting fans, chasing birds, and finding creative ways to skip lessons. His cultivation progress had lagged significantly behind his peers, much to the frustration of his elder brother, Nie Mingjue.

Nie Mingjue had been a formidable leader, his presence alone enough to elevate the Nie clan to rival even the prestigious Jin clan of Lanling. But after Nie Mingjue's tragic death due to cultivation gone awry, the mantle of leadership had fallen to the unprepared Nie Huaisang. Without his brother's guidance and protection, Nie Huaisang found himself overwhelmed by the responsibilities of clan leadership.

Now, it seemed, Nie Huaisang spent his days frantically seeking help from his brother's sworn brothers, Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen. One day he'd be at the Golden Carp Tower, tearfully pleading with Jin Guangyao, and the next he'd be at the Cloud Recesses, stammering out requests to Lan Xichen. It was only through the support of these two sect leaders that Nie Huaisang managed to maintain his tenuous grip on leadership.

The general opinion of Nie Huaisang, though rarely spoken aloud, was clear in the faces of those who mentioned him: a useless fool.

Reflecting on these memories left Wei Wuxian feeling a mixture of nostalgia and melancholy. Despite the peddler's less than flattering description, he found himself purchasing two boxes of rouge, partly out of pity and partly to maintain his cover. As he rejoined Lan Wangji, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, Wei Wuxian noticed that his companion still hadn't asked for the return of his money pouch. Without a word, they set off in the direction the peddler had indicated, towards Xinglu Ridge and its supposed man-eating monsters.

The path through Xinglu Ridge led them through a vast forest of cedar trees. The wide, shaded trail offered a pleasant respite from the sun, the leaves rustling softly in the breeze. They walked for quite some time without encountering anything out of the ordinary, though neither had truly expected to find evidence of the rumored monsters. Their journey was more a matter of due diligence than genuine concern.

In Wei Wuxian's experience, truly dangerous supernatural occurrences always left behind concrete evidence. The Soul-Devouring Goddess of Mount Dafan, for instance, had left a trail of identifiable victims, their names and backgrounds easily uncovered with a bit of investigation. When such details were suspiciously absent, it usually indicated nothing more than baseless rumors designed to frighten the gullible.

After nearly half an hour of uneventful hiking, they finally encountered something out of the ordinary. In the distance, they spotted a group of seven or eight figures approaching. As the figures drew closer, their true nature became apparent: a small horde of low-level walking corpses. These particular undead were so weak that they posed little threat to even the most novice cultivator. Their movements were sluggish, their vacant eyes rolled back in their sockets, and their tattered clothing hung limply from their emaciated frames.

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Such pitiful creatures were often ignored by high-level cultivators during night hunts, left for novices to dispatch as practice. They were more of a nuisance than a genuine threat, capable of little more than startling the easily frightened or mildly inconveniencing the unwary.

As the walking corpses shambled closer, Wei Wuxian realized with a start that they might pose an unexpected problem. He quickly stepped behind Lan Wangji, using the other man as a shield. Sure enough, when the walking corpses came within fifteen or twenty feet of them, they suddenly seemed to become aware of Wei Wuxian's presence. In an instant, their demeanor changed dramatically. They turned and fled, their previously sluggish movements now surprisingly agile as they retreated the way they had come.

Wei Wuxian, massaging his temples in exasperation, turned to Lan Wangji with a forced grin. "My goodness, Hanguang-Jun! You're truly formidable! Those walking corpses took one look at you and ran for their lives! Haha..."

Lan Wangji, as always, remained stoically silent in the face of Wei Wuxian's awkward attempt at deflection.

Wei Wuxian let out a forced laugh, pushing Lan Wangji playfully. "Come on, let's head back down the ridge. I don't think there are any other monsters here. The locals sure know how to exaggerate! A few pathetic walking corpses, and suddenly they're spinning tales of man-eating monsters and 'Cannibal Castles.' What a waste of time!"

Lan Wangji, typically unmoved, only began to walk after Wei Wuxian had pushed him several times. But before Wei Wuxian could catch up, a sudden, frenzied barking echoed from the distant depths of the cedar forest.

The effect on Wei Wuxian was instantaneous and dramatic. His face drained of color, and in a flash, he darted behind Lan Wangji, wrapping his arms around the other man's waist and crouching down into a tight ball.

Lan Wangji, perplexed by this extreme reaction, spoke softly, "...It's still far away. Why are you hiding?"

Wei Wuxian's voice came out muffled and shaky, "J-j-just hiding first, ask questions later. Where is it? Where's the dog?!"

Lan Wangji tilted his head, listening intently for a moment before responding, "It's Jin Ling's spiritual dog with the black mane."

At the mention of Jin Ling's name, Wei Wuxian began to straighten up, only to be forced back into a crouch by another bout of frenzied barking. Lan Wangji, ever observant, noted, "The spiritual dog is barking wildly. It must have encountered something significant."

Wei Wuxian groaned in distress, his legs trembling as he struggled to stand. "Th-th-then I suppose we sh-should go take a look!"

Lan Wangji remained motionless, causing Wei Wuxian to plead, "Hanguang-Jun, move! Just take a step! If you don't move, what am I supposed to do?!"

After a moment of silence that seemed to stretch for eternity, Lan Wangji finally spoke, his voice tinged with the slightest hint of amusement, "You... need to let go first."

The two made their way towards the source of the barking, their progress hampered by Wei Wuxian's reluctance and Lan Wangji's measured pace. They circled the cedar forest twice, the black-maned spiritual dog's barks alternating between near and far. As they walked, Wei Wuxian gradually acclimated to the sound, his stammer subsiding slightly. "Is there some kind of maze here?" he wondered aloud.

The maze-like quality of their surroundings was clearly artificial, a stark contrast to Wei Wuxian's earlier dismissal of the Xinglu Ridge rumors. The situation had suddenly become much more intriguing.

The spiritual dog's barking continued unabated for what felt like ages, its stamina seemingly endless. As Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian finally managed to navigate the confusing terrain, the outlines of several stone castles began to emerge from the misty forest.

The castles were constructed of grayish-white stone blocks, their surfaces covered in a tapestry of vines and fallen leaves. Each structure was shaped like a bizarre half-circle, resembling giant bowls overturned upon the earth.

The presence of these stone castles in Xinglu Ridge lent credence to the local rumors. However, whether they truly were "Cannibal Castles" and what might lurk within remained to be seen.

Jin Ling's black-maned spiritual dog circled the perimeter of the castle complex, alternating between low growls and thunderous barks. As Lan Wangji approached, the dog retreated slightly, clearly intimidated, but refused to flee. Instead, it barked even more ferociously, glancing back and forth between the newcomers and the castles. Its front paws dug furiously at the ground, kicking up clouds of dirt in its agitation.

Wei Wuxian, still cowering behind Lan Wangji, groaned in anguish, "Why won't it leave? Where's its master? Why can't we see him?!"

Indeed, since first hearing the dog's barks, they had heard no sound from Jin Ling himself—not even a cry for help. The spiritual dog must have accompanied him here, and it had likely been the one to break through the maze. Yet now, it seemed as though Jin Ling had simply vanished into thin air.

"We should go inside and investigate," Lan Wangji stated calmly.

Wei Wuxian, his voice strained, retorted, "How? There's no entrance."

He wasn't exaggerating. The grayish-white stones were sealed tightly together, with no visible doors or windows. The spiritual dog, growing increasingly frantic, leaped up, seemingly intent on tugging at Lan Wangji's robes but lacking the courage to do so. Instead, it circled around and latched onto Wei Wuxian's hem, attempting to drag him away.

Wei Wuxian, feeling as though his soul might leave his body at any moment, reached out desperately towards Lan Wangji. "Lan Zhan... Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!!!"

In a comical procession, the dog dragged Wei Wuxian, who in turn clung to Lan Wangji, pulling them in a half-circle around the stone castle. As they rounded the structure, they discovered a gaping hole nearly as tall as a man. The opening was jagged and uneven, surrounded by stone debris of various sizes—clear evidence that it had been blasted open recently by some powerful magical weapon.

The interior of the hole was pitch black, save for a faint, eerie red glow emanating from deep within. The spiritual dog released its grip on Wei Wuxian's clothing and began barking furiously into the opening, its tail wagging wildly as it looked back at the two men.

The implications were clear: Jin Ling must have forcibly created this entrance and ventured inside, only to encounter some unforeseen danger.

Without hesitation, Lan Wangji's sword, Bichen, partially unsheathed itself. The blade emitted a soft, cold blue light that illuminated the dark passage ahead. Lan Wangji ducked and entered first, with Wei Wuxian, driven to near madness by the dog's presence, following so closely behind that he nearly collided with his companion. Lan Wangji steadied Wei Wuxian with a hand, shaking his head in a gesture that could have been either reproach or resigned acceptance.

The spiritual dog, clearly eager to follow them inside, made several attempts to enter the opening. However, it seemed to be held back by some invisible force, unable to breach the threshold no matter how hard it tried. Eventually, it settled at the entrance, its tail wagging even more frantically than before. Wei Wuxian, overjoyed at being separated from the dog, nearly prostrated himself in gratitude. He withdrew his hand from Lan Wangji's grasp and took a few steps forward, the cold blue light of Bichen now appearing almost white against the pitch-black surroundings.

While the Xinglu Ridge had been cool due to its dense forest canopy, the interior of the stone castle was positively frigid. Wei Wuxian, dressed lightly for the journey, felt the chill wind seeping through his sleeves and vest, drying the cold sweat that had formed during his encounter with the spiritual dog. As they ventured deeper, the faint light from the entrance faded like a snuffed candle, and the space around them grew both darker and more expansive.

The ceiling of the castle was rounded, and when Wei Wuxian kicked at the stone debris beneath his feet, he could hear a faint echo. Finally unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, he came to a halt, pressing his right hand against his temple and furrowing his brow.

Lan Wangji turned back, concern evident in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Wei Wuxian's voice was strained as he replied, "...It's so noisy."

To any other observer, the interior of the stone castle would have been as silent as a tomb—which, in appearance, it closely resembled. But for Wei Wuxian, their current location was filled with a cacophony of sound, audible only to him.