Episode 2

It was a beautiful day and Mo Xuanyu (Wei Wuxian) was walking his donkey. You’re a very picky eater. You only eat fresh grass with dew and refuse any brown-tipped grass. Once you’re unsatisfied, you get angry and stop moving. And you even kick your feet. Well...you are my master now. Okay? My good master, come on. Mo Xuanyu is drinking water near a water well. My good master, what are you doing? How far is it? I have no idea. I don’t suppose it’s far. It’s scorching. It’s so hot. I’m thirsty. We’ve been walking for so long. When can we rest? How far is it? There’s a well. Come, let’s get some water. I want water too. I’ll go. Mo Xuanyu grabs his donkey and goes to sit elsewhere. Here. Yan! That’s so weird. Why isn’t the arrow moving at all? We are getting closer to Dafan Mountain. Maybe your compass is broken. Get a new one next time. We are only about ten minutes away from Dafan Mountain. We can’t rest for too long. We won’t be the most meritorious if others arrive before us. Hi, friends. Has there been anything unusual in Dafan Mountain lately? You probably didn’t know that Dafan Mountain was once a blessed place with a spiritual spring, but it gradually declined for unknown reasons. Recently, it is said that soul-eaters have appeared and have taken several souls. No. I don’t think so. I’m afraid there aren’t any monsters. See? All the arrows that signal monsters are steady. If your right, then how come there are symptoms of soullessness? Maybe your compass is to blame. Impossible. Don’t you k ow who made my compass? What do you mean of course, I do. It was made by Wei Wuxian. Mo Xuanyu chokes on his water. His inventions are not all perfect. Are they unquestionable? I didn’t say that. I never said they were all perfect. How can you slander me? Anyway, Wei's inventions are unqualified! But it’s been with me for years.it never went wrong. Why do you trust him so much? Is Wei your dad? He is my idol! Mo Xuanyu tries to go but his donkey won’t budge. Let’s go. My good master, it’s time to go! Here. A girl hands an apple to Mo Xuanyu. Yan! Excuse us. Thanks. Mo Xuanyu teases the donkey with the apple. Do you want the apple? No way! You can move now? Apple! Apple! Apple! Do you hear that? Do you? I’ll call you Apple from now on. Let’s go! Yan! Yan! Lady. The girl starts dancing. Yan! Yan! I beg you. Stop the dance! Yan. Mo Xuanyu used some spiritual power and put the girl to sleep. My Yan. Madam, what’s wrong with her? She is my daughter. She was engaged not long ago. But her fiancé didn’t live long. One day, he went to the mountain to cut firewood. Yan insisted on finding him. But unexpectedly, when she came back, she seemed like a different person. Yan. Yan. She neither eats or drinks. And she doesn’t remember us. Yan. Yan. Sometimes, she can recognize people, but she has lost her mind since then. She often dances towards Dafan Mountain. What sin did our clan ever commit to deserve this? When Yan just got a little better, her dad lost his soul and died soon after. Help! Anyone! Help! Somebody help! Can anyone help me? Help! Help! Help! Help! Is anyone there? Help! Help! Help! It’s always you idiots! There are over 400 spirit nets in the mountain and there yet to catch any pray. They’re being wasted on you guys. Spirit nets are quite expensive. He set over 400 of them. Very typical of the Jin clan of Lanling. Young master Jin, please make a merciful exception. Put us down, please. Please. Put us down. Put us down, please. You fools. It’s better to keep you there then to wander around and mess with my business. Young master Jin. Put us down, please. If I still remember you after I catch the soul-eaters, I’ll put you down. Young master Jin! Put us down, please! Please, Young master Jin, put us down! Apple! Apple! Apple! Apple! Apple! Help! Apple! Let us down! It’s you! What? You know me? You’ve gone crazy after being exiled? Look at how you are now. My uncle was wise to have driven you away at the time. How dare the Mo clan allow you to make an appearance? I didn’t know Mo Xuanyu really was the love child of clan leader Jin. Get out of my sight! You disgust me. Lewd thief! What are you referring to. You! Get lost now! I see you lack some maternal education. You! What did you say? Your spiritual power is to scarce to cultivate. Now you’ve adopted such goul tricks! You should watch out. Do you know who is coming today? Oh, I’m so scared. I’ll tell my uncle if you don’t lift the spell. You’ll be dead then. Why your uncle and not your dad? Who is your uncle? I am his uncle. Any last words? Uncle! Uncle. Uncle. Stop. Jin Ling, what’s taking you so long? Are you wating for me to help you up? Look how embarrassing you are. Stand up! I’ll break your legs! Break his legs? What did I tell you? Anyone who uses the Yiling patriarch's tricks should be killed and fed to your dog. I’m so unlucky today. Second Young Master of Lan. Clan Leader Jiang. You really live up to the idea of "appearing admits chaos." So you have time to visit the rural forest today? Are you here to take credits form us or to look for someone? I heard you’ve been to a lot of places in the past 16 years. Clan Leader Jiang, what do you mean by that? What do I mean? Second Young Master Lan, you know what I mean. Young Master Jin, the night hunt is supposed to be a fair competition. However, you set so many nets in Dafan Mountain that it takes others hardly able to proceed for fear of those nets. Aren’t you breaking the rules of the night hunt? They got cought because they are stupid. What can I do about that? If there’s nothing else, let’s talk after I catch the pray. Young Master Jin suddenly stayed quiet and pointed at his mouth that he could not talk anymore. Lan! What are you doing? Your not the one that should discipline him. Lift it now! Clan Leader Jiang, please don’t be angry. The Silence Spell of the Lan Clan won’t hurt people. The spell will be lifted in a stick of incense's time. If he doesn’t force to break it. Do it now! Clan Leader! Clan Leader! Just say it. What’s the bad news now? The nets were destroyed by a glowing blue sword just now. How many of them? All of them. Over 400 spirit nets! Excellent work, Lan Clan of Gusu, Jin Ling, Young Master Lan wants to teach you a lesson. Just take it. It’s not easy for him to discipline a junior from another clan. Off you go. Yes. Why are you still standing there? Are you waiting for the pray to kill itself before you do? If you don’t catch that monster today, don’t come back to me. Jin Ling excuses himself and leaves. Clan Leader Jiang, we, the Lan clan of Gusu. Will retire nets to you later. No need. Jiang Cheng walks away angry. Mo Xuanyu feels his heart beat faster and faster and butter flies grow in his stomach. Ugh why dose it have to be you? Stupid heart. Get back to your positions. Try your best, but don’t take risks. Yes. Yes. Lan Zhan glanced at Mo Xuanyu and he started to blush hard. Mo Xuanyu squats down near a river and takes off his mask. Wei Wuxian, don’t stir up trouble again. Xian, have some soup. It’s your favorite loutish root and ribs soup. Wei Wuxian, you said you would assist me. Don’t you remember? You said Gusu has its Twin jades, so we are the heroes of Yunmeng. Wuxian, you, Cheng, and I, we won’t be separated. We will stay together forever. Yanli. Yanli! This Young Master Jin is spoiled by both the Jin clan and the Jiang clan. What a bossy young master. I can’t imagine what will happen when he takes over the Jin clan of Lanling. Nobody would stand it then. It’s reasonable. His parents passed away when he was a child. So what? There are so many people without parents. What would the world become if everyone was like him? But Jin Ling does have a miserable past. His father was killed because of Wei Wuxian just a few days after he was born. His mother, Jiang Yanli, was also killed later because of Wei. What an unlucky woman! She trusted Wei, only to be killed. No wonder Jiang Cheng hates Wei, the Yiling patriarch, so much. Jiang never forgave anyone who used Wei's tricks in the past 16 years. I think Wei Wuxian is to blame. He has so many enemies. Flashback. I can see you lack some maternal education. Back in reality. Mo Xuanyu slapped himself. Jin Ling is my sister's son. How could I say that to him? I thought I could be indifferent to the world, but nobody can repress their feoafter all. Mo Xuanyu lays back on the rocks and closed his eyes. He opens his eyes to Apples face infront of him. Apple! Your back! Sizhui, we have searched everywhere. There is nothing related to the soul-eating monsters here. The Lan clan of Gusu stop in there tracks seeing a grave yard and they slowly approach. They see something zoom by they run towards the person and point a sword at him. Who are you? Why are you hiding? Sir, what are you doing here? I’m the caretaker. I look after these graves. I thought it was the monster. Sir, how long have you been here? I can’t recall. At the beginning, Master Wen asked me to watch over the graves, so I dare not to leave. But later, more people died. The graves here have then increased in number, witch easily attracted evil spirits. Is there anything strange in Dafan Mountain? Yes. You should visit Tiannu Temple at the top of the mountain. There stands a dancing fairy statue. It’s a stone that looks like a person. It’s very strange. At that time, Master Wen said... What did he say? Let’s have a look at the temple. Maybe we’ll find some clues. Thank you sir. Master Wen...What on earth did he say? Master Wen...I got it! The stone there can move! You stupid donkey, all you do is eat all day. Mo Xuanyu looks at the grass that Apple was eating and realized something. Apple. This is soul-gathering grass. Such grass can gather spiritual energy from the earth. It usually grows beside the graves of cultivators. Maybe there are lots of them around here. I’m amazed. You’re really good at eating. Mo Xuanyu and Apple start walking and they end up at the grave yard that the Lan clan of Gusu was at. This place is surrounded by a dark fog because many cultivators are buried here. The spiritual power lingers and nourishes the grass. Excuse me, what clan do these graves belong to? They disappeared long ago. The Wen clan had disappeared. The Wen clan. Wen clan. Wei Wuxian. My clan is buried here. No. It’s not the soul-eater. Damn it, Jin Ling is in danger. Where did the old man go? It was said they hundreds of years ago, a hunter from Fojiao Town went to the mountain and found a strange stone in a cave that looks eerily human. It has its four limbs in a dancing gesture. What’s more, the statue even has a valid face of a smiling woman. The people in Fojiao Town saw it as a miracle and made many fairytales about it. According to the locals, making wishes here is really effective. Why is the temple so dilapidated now? Does nobody come to clean it? A stone from nowhere was put here with no explanation. It should be considered a deity and served. The ignorant villagers pray all day. But they don’t k ow that gods can’t even carry themselves, let alone a stone. If it is effective as people say, then I wish that the monster of Dafan Mountain show up in front of me immediately. Can the stone do that? Yes. Young Master Jin is right. Spiritual power drone the stone hits the guy in the head and he passes out. Hey. What wrong with you? Wake up! The stone starts to move like a human. They all pull out there swords.young Master Mo! Get out of here! Watch out! It’s a soul-eating statue. The stone just moved. Stop stalling. Run! The stone starts to follow them. Wait for me! Who are you kids? Do you know our clan? All right. Men, can you set off a signal shell of yours and ask your Young Master Lan for help? Gosh. The shells were used up at the Mo's Manor that night. All of them. You didn’t get more? I forgot. You forgot? Your going to be punished if your young master finds out. We’re doomed. This time, Young Master Lan will severely punish us. "Punish." You are supposed to learn a lesson, or else you won’t remember it next time. Young Master Mo, how did you know it was a fairy statue that ate souls? I saw them. What did you see? Old graves. So I deduced it wasn’t something soul-eaters do. Why? You Lan clan of Gusu learns to much about cultivators etiquette, cultivation, and clan history. They’re all meaningless and tiresome to recite. Together should teach you something useful. Soul-eating monsters and soul-eating specters live on the i undissipated spiritual energy of the dead. Now I have a question. There are so many cultivators graves that have their lingering spiritual energy. Why do they target living people? You have a point. Wait. So you are not crazy. What about the lady Yan? Second question. Her fiancé went missing, what can she do as a weak woman? Pray to the gods. Yes. And there’s something special about Yan. Among all victims only her soul came back. Well...Yan's father loves her so much. When he found out that Yan's soul was lost and the medicine was useless, what did he do? I know. He also went to pray. So he also went to the temple in order to get Yan's soul back. Correct. The fairy statue returned Yan’s soul, but her soul had already been affected. That’s why Yan imitates the fairy statue's gesture and smile. So when Jin Ling said his wish, "I wish that the monster of Dafan Mountain show up in front of me immediately." the statue was brought to life! Jin Ling. Did anyone see Jin Ling? Why does the statue...look like a real human? That’s strange. Lan Zhan and I sealed her. What brought her to life? Young Master Jin, released the signal. Why did you take my sword? Mo Xuanyu takes the cultivators sword and chops off a piece of bamboo and makes it a flute after he was done he gave the sword back. Mo Xuanyu started to play the flute. Why are you playing the flute right now? And it sounds awful. Your crazy after all. Wen Ning comes in and kicks the statues arm off. Wen Ning? Wen Ning should be dead. Why him? What the hell is this? It’s the ghost general. The Ghost General Wen Ning. Wen Ning should have died 16 years ago along with the Yiling patriarch. Mo Xuanyu continued to play the flute and Wen Ning twirled into the stone breaking it. No. It’s an illusion. Who made this? And why? Was it for me to lure out Wen Ning? The fairy is gone. It’s so illusive. What? Surrounded him! Everyone! Don’t let him escape! He is Wen Ning! Why are you afraid? Don’t be afraid! The Yiling patriarch is not here. Yes. There’s no need to worry. His master is dead. Go! My playing was to fierce. It stirred up his temper. I have to stabilize him. Mo Xuanyu stops playing as Lan Zhan grabs his arm. They both start to tear up as they look at each other in the eyes. Mo Xuanyu continued to play and sent Wen Ning away he then looked back at Lan Zhan and hugged him they both started crying. Ling. Uncle. Mo Xuanyu and Lan Zhan stoped hugging and wiped there tears. You didn’t carry the signal shells? Now what happened? Don’t pretend to be brave. Get over here now! You told me to catch it no matter what. Don’t talk back. Clan Leader. What on earth was that? How could it have caused you such trouble? Clan Leader, it was Wen Ning. What? Wen Ning is back. Wen Ning. It was Wen Ning. Truly. He was executed a long time ago. Impossible. It’s true. I couldn’t have seen it wrong. He called Wen Ning out. Great. You are back. Jiang Cheng tried to hit Mo Xuanyu (Wei Wuxian) with the ziden but Lan Zhan protected him. Lan Wanji, how dare you! Mo Xuanyu tries to run but Jiang Cheng hit him and he fell on the floor. Mo Xuanyu gets up. What? You think you can beat people as you will because you are rich and powerful? Why didn’t it work? Why didn’t it work? Impossible. Take off your mask. No. You! You will be shocked to death if I take it off. Clan Leader, please stop. That’s the Zidian. The Zidian can recognize souls that possess others bodies. Wei Wuxian's body and soul were both lost after he died. He couldn’t resurrect unless he possesses another body. How do you know Wei died for sure? People say you killed him yourself. Tell me. Who are you? Wei Wuxian! Go to hell! Sometimes, I really want to go back 16 years ago, back to Lotus Pier. Even if it was just a dream. I would be willing to stay dreaming.

16 years ago

Xian. Xian. Xian. Xian. I’ll release the dog if you don’t get up. A dog. Fresh Loquat! Fresh from the trees! Don’t make fun of Xian. You’re here. Let me up. I’m coming. Yanli, everyone is here. We haven’t reached Cloud Recesses. This is Caiyi Town. Is there anything fun here? We are here for the lecture. All you think about is having fun. It’s fun to do something forbidden. All right, you two. This is not our hometown. Remember to behave yourselves. Look at him. What’s wrong with me? I want this. Excuse me. See. A bunny. Isn’t it interesting? Yes, it is. Wei Wuxian, stop playing. We are getting closer to Cloud Recesses. This time, pupils from all the famous clans will come. Don’t let others look down on us because of you. Okay. And you should keep this in mind too. From now on. Whatever we say and do represents the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Wei Wuxian! Did you hear what I said? Yanli, we had a long hour from Yunmeng and we’re exhausted. I think we can find a tavern and get some rest, and then go to Cloud Recesses in order to keep a good image. Sure. There are ten more days before the ceremony. It’s been a journey, let’s rest here. Are we going to stay here for a while? I heard the Emperor's Smile liquor of Gusu is the most famous one. It tastes soft, yet full-bodied. Drink it to forget all your worries. I’ve been wanting it for a long time. Now, I can finally tast it. Wei Wuxian, don’t drink. I have to. Drinking can ease one’s mind. Why stop me? You! Father shouldn’t have let you come. You! Quite, both of you. Let’s find a tavern first. Wei Wuxian, remember to--I know. I can even recite your words now. I have to go. Yanli, look at him. I have a feeling that he will definitely make trouble at Cloud Recesses. Xian was born high-spirited. It’s not a bad thing. Father also says so sometimes. Yanli, you and father always defend him. There’s no way he would change his attitude. Besides, we, the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng, have always been told to be free, right?....

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