Unexpectedly, he took only one step back, but his foot twisted, and it seemed that he almost fell to the ground. Lan Wangji's expression changed, and he rushed forward, clamped his wrist tightly like he did last time in Dafan Mountain, and steadied him, then knelt down on one knee to check his leg. Wei Wuxian was quite frightened, and hurriedly said, "No, no, no, Hanguang-jun, you don't have to do this."

Lan Wangji raised his head slightly, stared at him with his pale eyes, then lowered his head to continue rolling up his trouser legs. Wei Wuxian's hand was still held by him, so he had no choice but to look up at the sky.

His legs were covered with black, bruised marks from the evil curse.

Lan Wangji looked at it for a long while before he said in a hoarse voice, "...I was only away for a few hours."

Wei WuXian spread his hands and said, “A few hours is a long time. Anything can happen. Come on, stand up.”

He pulled Lan Wangji up with his backhand and said, "It's just an ordinary evil curse mark. I can just break it up when it comes looking for me. Han Guang-jun, you have to help me. I can't handle it if you don't. Did you catch the person? Is it him? Where is he now?"

Lan Wangji cast his eyes towards the sign in front of a store at the far end of the long street. Wei Wuxian said, "Let's solve the matter of the stone fort first." Then he walked towards the store. He didn't notice it just now, but now he felt his legs and feet were a little numb, which should be caused by the purple lightning. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng knew how to control the intensity of the purple lightning and didn't electrocute him directly into a charred corpse struck by lightning.

Lan Wangji stood behind him and suddenly called out, "Wei Ying."

Wei WuXian paused for a moment, as if he hadn’t heard the name, and responded, “What is it?”

Lan Wangji asked, “Did it move from Jin Ling?”

This is not a question, but a statement.

Wei WuXian did not comment. Lan WangJi continued, “You met Jiang WanYin.”

There were also marks left by Zidian on the evil curse mark, so it was not difficult to tell. Wei Wuxian turned around and said, "As long as both of us are alive in this world, we will meet sooner or later."

Lan Wangji said, "Don't leave."

Wei WuXian asked, “If you don’t want to leave, will you carry me on your back?”

“…” Lan Wangji looked at him quietly. Wei Wuxian’s smile froze and an ominous shadow passed through his heart.

If it was the Lan Zhan of the past, he would have been choked by his words, and would have either walked away with a cold face or ignored him. But it was hard to say how the current Lan Zhan would respond. Sure enough, Lan Wangji stood in front of him after hearing what he said, and seemed to really bend down, bend his knees, and condescend to carry him on his back. Wei Wuxian was frightened again, and hurriedly said, "Stop, stop, I was just talking casually. It's just that I was numb after being whipped by the purple lightning twice, not that my legs are broken. It's too embarrassing for a grown man to need someone to carry him."

Lan Wangji asked, “Is it ugly?”

Wei WuXian asked, “Does it look good?”

After a moment of silence, Lan Wangji said, "But you also carried me on your back."

Wei WuXian asked, “Is there such a thing? Why don’t I remember it?”

Lan Wangji said calmly: "You never remember these."

Wei WuXian said: “Everyone says that I have a bad memory. Well, if it’s bad, then it’s bad. Anyway, I won’t memorize it.”

Lan Wangji asked, "You really don't want to carry me?"

Wei WuXian said firmly, “No.”

The two of them stood in a stalemate for a moment, and suddenly, Lan Wangji put one arm around his back, leaned over slightly, and used his other hand to grab his knee.

Wei Wuxian was shorter and lighter than him, so he was lifted up and held in a pair of strong arms. Wei Wuxian never expected that this would be the end of "not carrying" him. No matter in his past or present life, this was the first time he was treated like this. He said in horror: "Lan Zhan!!!"

Lan Wangji held him and walked very steadily, and answered very steadily: "You said you didn't want to carry me."

Wei WuXian asked, “But I didn’t tell you to hold me like this?”

Fortunately, it was already night, and there were no pedestrians on the street, so it was not too embarrassing. Wei Wuxian was not a shy person, and after being carried for a few steps, he relaxed and lifted the belt on Lan Wangji's chest, pretending to pull it, and said with a smile: "You want to be thicker-skinned than others, right?"

The clear sandalwood fragrance lingered around him. Lan Wangji didn't look at him, but stared straight ahead, unmoved, with an extremely upright, serious and cold face. Wei Wuxian saw that he turned a deaf ear to him and lifted his belt while thinking: "I didn't expect Lan Zhan to have such a strong desire for revenge. I teased him in the past, and now he wants to get back at me for everything, making me feel so embarrassed. He has improved a lot. Not only has his cultivation improved, but his face has also improved."

Wei WuXian said: “Lan Zhan, did you recognize me at Mount Dafan?”

Lan Wangji said, “Yeah.”

Wei Wuxian was surprised: “How did you recognize him?”

Lan Wangji lowered his eyelashes and glanced at him: "Want to know?"

Wei WuXian replied affirmatively: “Yes.”

Lan Wangji said: "You told me yourself."

Wei WuXian asked, “Myself? Because of Jin Ling? Because I summoned Wen Ning? None of them, right?”

There seemed to be ripples in Lan Wangji's eyes. However, this barely perceptible fluctuation was fleeting, and immediately turned back into a deep pool.

He said solemnly: "Think for yourself."

Wei WuXian said, “That’s why I asked you because I couldn’t think of it.”

This time, no matter how he asked, Lan Wangji kept silent. He carried Wei Wuxian into the inn. Except for the guy at the lobby counter who sprayed water, no one else did anything outrageous. They came to the door, and Wei Wuxian said, "Okay, we're here, time to put me down. You don't have a third hand to open the door..."

Before he finished speaking, Lan Wangji made a very rude move. This might be the first time in his life that he made such a rude move.

He held Wei Wuxian in his arms and kicked the door open.

As soon as the two doors opened, the person sitting inside, who was shy, immediately cried, "Han Guang-jun, I don't know, I don't know, I..."

After seeing clearly how the two people outside the door came in, he reluctantly finished the last sentence with a dull look: "...I really don't know."

It is true that he knows nothing about anything.

Lan Wangji pretended not to notice and carried Wei Wuxian in, placing him on the mat. Nie Huaisang looked horrible, and immediately spread out his folding fan to cover his face. Wei Wuxian looked over the folding fan. His former classmate had not changed much over the years. He was still the same as he was then. He had a face full of literary talent, but he looked like he could be manipulated at will. His clothes were of good taste and unrestrained, and he must have spent a lot of time on them. It would be better to say that he was a rich and idle person than a master of the Xuanmen. He didn't look like a prince in a dragon robe, and he didn't look like an immortal with a long sword.

He refused to admit it, so Lan Wangji put the piece of cloth that the black-maned spirit dog had bitten off on the table. Nie Huaisang covered his missing sleeve and said sadly, "I just happened to pass by. I really don't know anything."

Wei WuXian said, “You don’t know, so let me tell you and see if you will understand something as you listen.”

Nie Huaisang stammered, not knowing how to respond. Wei Wuxian then said, “There are rumors about ‘Man-eating Ridge’ and ‘Man-eating Castle’ in the area of ​​Qinghe Xinglu Ridge, but there are no real victims, so this is just a rumor. Rumors will keep ordinary people away from Xinglu Ridge, so its real function is actually a line of defense. And it’s only the first line.”

"If there is a first, there must be a second. The second line of defense is the zombies on Xinglu Ridge. Even if ordinary people who are not afraid of the rumors about the Man-Eating Castle come up the ridge, or enter the ridge by mistake, they will flee when they see the walking dead. But these zombies are few in number and have low lethality, so they will not cause any real harm."

"The third line of defense is the maze near the stone fortress. The first two lines are for ordinary people, only this one is for Xuanmen monks. But its range of action is limited to ordinary monks. If you encounter a monk who has a spiritual weapon or a spiritual dog and specializes in breaking mazes, or a famous person of Han Guangjun's level, this line of defense can only be broken."

"The triple defense is to prevent the stone fort on Xinglu Ridge from being discovered. It is clear who built the stone fort. This is the territory of the Nie family in Qinghe. Apart from the Nie family, no one else can easily set up these three checkpoints in Qinghe. What's more, you happened to appear near the stone fort, leaving evidence."

"What is the purpose of the Qinghe Nie clan building a man-eating fort on Xinglu Ridge? Where did the corpses in the wall come from? Were they eaten by the beast? Sect Master Nie, if you don't explain it here today, I'm afraid that once it gets out, the Xuanmen clans will attack and question you. Even if you want to speak then, no one will listen to you or believe you."

Nie Huaisang said in a self-deprecating tone: "...That is not a man-eating fort at all. That...that is just my family's ancestral grave!"

Wei WuXian asked, “Ancestral tomb? Whose ancestral tomb would not put a corpse in the coffin, but a sword instead?”

Nie Huaisang said with a sad face, "Hanguang-jun, before I say anything, can you swear an oath? For the sake of our family friendship and my elder brother's sworn brotherhood with your elder brother, no matter what I say next, you... and the person next to you, must not spread it. If it gets out in the future, both of you can also help me say a few words and serve as witnesses. You have always been the most trustworthy, so as long as you swear, I will believe it."

Lan Wangji said, “As you wish.”

Wei WuXian asked, “You said it’s not a man-eating castle at all, so it has never eaten anyone?”

Nie Huaisang gritted his teeth and said honestly: "...I have eaten it."

Wei WuXian said, “Wow.”

Nie Huaisang immediately added: "But, it was only once! And the main fault was not our family's, and it was decades ago! The rumor about the cannibal castle on Xinglu Ridge started to spread from that time. I... I just fanned the flames and magnified the rumor several times."