As they entered the city, the two walked side by side amidst the bustling crowd. Suddenly, Lan Wangji asked, "How is the curse mark?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "Jin Ling buried it too close to our 'good brother' at the time, so it absorbed quite a bit of resentful energy. It's faded a little, but hasn't completely disappeared. We'll probably need to find the complete corpse, or at least the head, to figure out how to eliminate it entirely. It's not a big deal."

The "good brother" referred to the unfortunate soul who had been drawn and quartered. Since they didn't know who he actually was, Wei Wuxian had suggested using "good brother" as a nickname. Lan Wangji, upon hearing this, remained silent but didn't object, which was as good as giving his approval. Of course, he would never use such a term himself.

Lan Wangji asked, "How much is 'a little'?"

Wei Wuxian gestured a small distance with his fingers and said, "A little is just a little. How should I put it... do you want me to take off my clothes and show you?"

Lan Wangji's brow twitched slightly, as if genuinely concerned that Wei Wuxian might strip in the middle of the street. He said in a low voice, "Wait until we get back to undress."

Wei Wuxian burst into laughter, turning around to walk backward for a few steps. Earlier, in his eagerness to leave, he had gone to great lengths to make himself unlikeable, doing many foolish and embarrassing things. Now that his identity had been revealed, anyone else would have been mortified to recall such behavior. But Wei Wuxian, with his characteristically thick skin, acted as if nothing had happened. Then again, most people with any sense of shame wouldn't have done things like crawling into someone's bed in the middle of the night, insisting on sharing a bathtub, or asking if they looked pretty after putting on makeup. He pretended not to remember any of it, and Lan Wangji naturally wouldn't bring it up either, so they both acted as if nothing had happened. Today was the first time since then that he had joked like this again. After his laugh, Wei Wuxian suddenly turned serious: "Hanguang-jun, do you think the people who threw our good brother's hand into the Mo family's estate to attack your clan's junior, and those who sewed his legs onto another corpse and buried it in the wall, are the same group?"

Although in the past and present, he had always called Lan Wangji by name in his heart, he had gotten used to using his title during their recent time together. Moreover, when he used this formal address, it carried a sense of mock seriousness that was oddly amusing, so he continued to use it half-jokingly in public.

Lan Wangji replied, "Two different groups."

Wei Wuxian said, "Ah, great minds think alike. Going to all that trouble to sew the legs onto another corpse and hide it in the wall clearly shows they didn't want the limbs to be found. If that's the case, they wouldn't deliberately throw out the left hand to attack the Gusu Lan Clan, as that would definitely draw attention and investigation. One group is meticulously hiding evidence, while the other is recklessly acting out, almost as if they want to be discovered. They shouldn't be the same people."

Having said everything there was to say, it seemed Lan Wangji had nothing to add, but he still gave an "Mm" in response.

Wei Wuxian turned back around and continued walking while talking: "The people who hid the legs know about the Qinghe Nie Clan's tradition of the Blade Hall, while those who threw the left hand are familiar with the Gusu Lan Clan's movements. I suspect neither group has a simple background. The secrets are piling up."

Lan Wangji said, "One step at a time."

Wei Wuxian asked, "How did you recognize me?"

Lan Wangji replied, "Figure it out yourself."

They continued their back-and-forth, question and answer, without pause. Wei Wuxian had hoped to catch Lan Wangji off guard and get him to blurt out the answer to this last question, but he failed once again. Undeterred, he swiftly changed the subject: "I've never been to Liyang before. Previously, I always had others gather information for me. This time, I'll take it easy and trouble you to do the asking. Does Hanguang-jun mind?"

Lan Wangji turned to leave, and Wei Wuxian immediately said, "Wait a moment. Hanguang-jun, may I ask where you're going?"

Lan Wangji turned back and replied, "To find the local cultivator clan."

Wei Wuxian grabbed the tassel of his sword, pulling him back: "What for? This is their territory. Even if they know something, they won't tell you. Either they can't solve the problem and are too embarrassed to admit it, or they're stubbornly refusing to let outsiders interfere. Esteemed Hanguang-jun, I'm not trying to belittle you, but when it comes to investigating out here, you really can't manage without me. If you were to inquire like this, it would be strange if you learned anything at all."

These words were spoken rather bluntly, but the look in Lan Wangji's eyes beneath his eyelids was gentle. He still softly said, "Mm."

Wei Wuxian laughed: "What do you mean, 'Mm'? How can you just say 'Mm' to that?" But inwardly, he grumbled, "Only knows how to say 'Mm', still so taciturn!"

Lan Wangji asked, "Then how should we inquire?"

Wei Wuxian pointed to one side: "Of course, we go there!"

Where he pointed was a wide, long street. Both sides of the street were adorned with eye-catching signs hanging high and low, fluttering with bright red cloths. Each shop had its doors wide open, with round, black jars arranged from inside to outside. Shop assistants were holding trays of small wine cups, enthusiastically recommending their wares to passersby.

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The strong aroma of alcohol wafted throughout the street, no wonder Wei Wuxian had been walking slower and slower. As they reached the entrance of the street, he came to a complete stop, even holding Lan Wangji back.

Wei Wuxian said seriously, "The assistants in these places are usually young and quick-witted, with nimble hands and feet. And since they have many customers every day and hear all sorts of chatter, any strange occurrences in the area surely won't escape their notice."

Lan Wangji responded with an "Mm" that didn't oppose the idea, but his face clearly said, "You just want to drink, don't you?"

Wei Wuxian pretended not to understand his expression and, still holding onto the tassel of Lan Wangji's sword, entered the street of wine shops with his eyes gleaming. Immediately, five or six assistants from different shops surrounded them, each more enthusiastic than the last: "Would you like to try? This is the famous He family brew of our region!"

"Young master, try this one. Just a taste, free of charge. If you enjoy it, please patronize our humble shop."

"This wine doesn't smell strong, but it packs quite a punch once you drink it!"

"If you can still stand after drinking this, I'll take your surname!"

Hearing this last one, Wei Wuxian said, "Alright!" He took the cup of wine from the assistant, drank it in one gulp, and showed him the empty bottom with a smile, saying, "Take my surname?"

The assistant, surprisingly undaunted, raised his chin and said with even more bravado, "I said after drinking a whole jar!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Then give me... three jars."

The assistant was overjoyed and rushed back to the shop. Wei Wuxian said to Lan Wangji, "In business, you do business first, then talk about other things. Once the business is done, it's easier to open up conversations."

Lan Wangji took out money to pay.

The two entered the shop, which had wooden tables and chairs for customers to rest and chat. Another assistant inside, seeing Lan Wangji's appearance and demeanor, was struck by his otherworldly beauty and dared not be negligent. He vigorously wiped the tables and chairs for quite a while before daring to offer them seats. Wei Wuxian had two jars at his feet and one in his hand. After exchanging a few friendly words with the assistant, he got straight to the point, asking about any strange occurrences in the area. The talkative assistant rubbed his hands and asked, "What kind of strange things?"

"Haunted houses, desolate graves, dismembered bodies, things like that."

The assistant's eyes darted around as he said, "Oh... What exactly do you do? You and him."

Wei Wuxian said, "Haven't you already guessed?"

The assistant nodded knowingly, "Of course. It's easy to guess. You two must be those flying, cloud-riding cultivators from some clan, right? Especially the one next to you, I've never seen someone so... so..."

Wei Wuxian laughed and said, "So exquisite."

The assistant laughed heartily and said, "You've said it, sir. This young master might not be pleased. Strange occurrences, right? There are some. But not recent ones, it was from ten years ago. If you walk in this direction, out of the city, and go another two or three li, you'll see a rather beautifully built mansion. I don't know if their nameplate is still there, but that place is the Chang estate."

Wei Wuxian asked, "What happened to that mansion?"

"A horrific massacre!" the assistant said. "You asked about strange things, so of course I'm telling you the strangest of the strange. An entire family wiped out, and they say everyone died of fright!"

Hearing this, Lan Wangji seemed lost in thought, as if remembering something. Wei Wuxian, however, didn't notice and asked, "Is there any cultivator clan stationed in this area?"

To frighten an entire family to death would require an extremely cruel and terrifying ghost or evil spirit. Not every family had unavoidable circumstances like the Qinghe Nie Clan; usually, cultivator clans wouldn't tolerate such entities in their territory.

The assistant replied, "Yes, there is. How could there not be?"

Wei Wuxian asked, "How did they respond to the situation at that time?"

"Respond?" The assistant threw his cloth over his shoulder and sat down, solemnly delivering the punchline he had been holding back: "Young master, do you know what the surname of the cultivator clan stationed in Liyang was before? It was Chang. The family that died was their family! With everyone dead, who was left to respond?"

The massacred Chang family was actually the cultivator clan stationed in this area?!

Although Wei Wuxian had never heard of the Liyang Chang Clan, and it certainly wasn't a renowned cultivation sect, the annihilation of an entire clan was undoubtedly a shocking and major event. He quickly followed up with another question: "How exactly was the Chang family wiped out?"

The assistant said, "I'm just telling you what I've heard. One night, there was suddenly the sound of someone banging on the door at the Chang estate."

Wei Wuxian: "Banging on the door?"

"Yes! The banging was so loud it shook the heavens. Inside, there was shouting and crying, as if everyone was trapped inside and couldn't get out. Isn't that strange? The door was bolted from the inside. If the people inside wanted to get out, couldn't they just open it? Why bang on the door? And if they were banging, how could the people outside help? And if they couldn't use the door, why not climb over the wall?

"The people outside were very puzzled. Everyone in the area knew that the Chang family was an impressive clan of cultivators. Their patriarch, I think his name was Chang Ping, had a sword that could fly, and he could stand on it and fly! If something had really happened inside that even they couldn't handle, wouldn't it be suicide for ordinary people to get involved? So no one dared to set up ladders or climb over the wall to look inside. This went on all night, with the wailing inside growing fainter and fainter. The next day, as soon as the sun came up, the main gate of the Chang estate opened by itself.

"In the entire house, more than a dozen masters, male and female, and over fifty servants, some sitting, some lying face down, all with bile coming out of their mouths, had been frightened to death."

The wine shop owner turned back and scolded, "You're asking for trouble! Stop working to talk about these old, deadly stories."

Wei Wuxian said, "Give us five more jars."

Lan Wangji paid for ten jars, and the owner immediately turned back with a beaming smile, instructing the assistant, "Take good care of the customers, don't run off anywhere!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Please, continue."

The assistant, now free from worry, put his heart and soul into the storytelling, speaking with dramatic flair: "After that, for quite some time, if anyone walked near the Chang estate at night, they could hear the sound of banging on doors from inside!

"Just imagine, these were people who could ride clouds and fight monsters, who had seen all sorts of ghosts and demons. Yet they were all frightened to death. How terrifying must it have been? If you walk at night often enough, you're bound to encounter ghosts. They say you could even hear the sound of banging on coffins after they were buried! Although their patriarch, Chang Ping, was away and escaped this fate..."

Wei Wuxian interrupted, "Didn't you say the entire family was wiped out?"