Wangji was attentive throughout the observation and the sudden fights.
"Wangji, these corpses—"
Xichen began to speak while standing in front of a body that was pale and dry as the others. The bodies had strange symbols on their foreheads, and their hearts were missing.
A triangle. And a hand with three fingers, like a bird's claw.
"Someone is intentionally stealing them and creating a pattern, leaving nothing but the symbol. We may need to follow it to reach the source," Wangji interrupted, his voice sharper than usual.
Xichen sighed and nodded. "We have found more than fifty bodies in the same pattern, left dead in an arrow shape pointing north." He looked at his brother. "I suspect it is a trap meant specifically for the Gusu Lan."
Wangji's gaze remained on the corpse. "That is possible. But the mystery must be exposed before it can be solved. The murderer is not stopping here."
Xichen crossed his arms. "Should we send our cultivators to follow the trail while we track from the opposite direction?"
Wangji nodded once. "That could work. We will spot the enemy from afar while they are distracted by our fellow members." He looked at his brother. "But for safety, I request that you join them and move in the opposite direction."
Xichen blinked. "Alone? Wangji, you are not fully healed."
"I am fine."
Wangji spoke firmly, but his voice was a soft whisper, full of tiredness and an untold hope that only he knew — Wei Ying.
"You are sure?" Xichen asked again.
"Mn. No need to worry."
"Then we leave right away. I hope to see you soon." Xichen looked at the other members.
The group split into two — one for Xichen, one for Wangji.
Wangji bowed to his brother. "Farewell."
Xichen returned the bow with a faint smile. "Farewell. Take care." He straightened. "Move out before dawn."
"Yes, Gūnsūn," the Gusu Lan disciples answered.
Once Xichen's group had left, Wangji's golden gaze shifted. A different intention surfaced behind it. He looked down at the corpse once more, thoughtfully touching its hand, trying to pinch the muscle — but it was hard as wood.
He exhaled, a silent loss of hope passing through him. 'No flesh in this body. I need a new one.'
The disciples assigned to Wangji exchanged glances. He was analyzing the bodies in an unusual way. But they said nothing. They knew Wangji was an expert; he knew better.
"Search for any corpse that is not yet dry. For observation," Wangji ordered.
The disciples nodded and began searching. Wangji examined each one carefully, sometimes pinching an arm or a thigh.
'He looked like he was searching for something we cannot name,' one disciple whispered to another.
'Perhaps. Just focus on searching. There is more to do later.'
Wangji noticed the whispers but did nothing. Nothing would stop him from searching for flesh. They were only gossiping.
He checked another body. Then another. He examined more than ten corpses in every way he could —
Until he found one that still had a pound of flesh. More than enough for what Wei Ying needed.
His heart gave a light jump when he pinched the arm and the thigh. He found four spots where he could harvest.
'This is it.'
He swallowed hard. He looked around carefully, making sure no one was watching. Everyone was still busy, still searching, since Wangji had not told them to stop.
His gaze swept over the other men as he slowly drew a knife from his sleeve. His golden eyes were cold. He quickly cut the flesh, taking as much as he could.
The flesh had almost no blood. It was already close to drying out, like the others, before Wangji had found it. The places he carved were left looking like some large creature had bitten them away in hunger.
Once he had the four pieces, he tucked them into his spiritual pouch. The pouch swallowed them without a trace of black blood or foul smell. He looked at it as if he had found something priceless — pieces of gold.
A faint smile touched his lips, barely visible unless someone was looking closely.
'I have it, Wei Ying. You will be fine.'
His smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared when the disciples brought another body to him. He quickly secured the pouch inside his robe.
"We have searched enough. We may leave these and move north, following the path south," Wangji ordered, his voice serious again.
The disciples blinked but nodded, dropping the bodies and preparing for the task.
"Gūnsūn, why is this body damaged this way? We did not find a single one that looked like something had bitten it," one disciple asked curiously.
The others hushed him for speaking too boldly.
Wangji stayed silent for a moment, then turned away. "The flesh was already in that condition. You may not have noticed, but it was that way the whole time."
"I-I see. I apologize for speaking nonsense," the disciple said quickly, embarrassed.
But the man still looked unconvinced. He could not believe the flesh had truly been that way.
Wangji noticed the conflict in his eyes. But he kept himself wrapped in innocence and logic.
"Mn. No problem. Things… happen sometimes." Wangji moved south, expecting them to follow.
The disciples followed in a line, silently, as told.
'I swear that body was not like that before we brought it to him,' the same disciple whispered to another who also seemed suspicious.
'I know. But we have no proof. Besides, the bodies were already broken. Anything could have happened to them.'
Wangji paused. "Running your mind over a useless matter will not solve anything."
They straightened immediately and fell silent before following him again.
Wangji kept his glare on them longer than he should have.
'They may cause trouble in the future. I must be careful with them as well.'