For the big decisions.
With Su Ming holding A-Si by the armpits so she would not run after us, we took the teacher-corpse, put him in a spirit-trapping pouch, which was terribly crazy and unreal, and together with the boy who Daryl carried on his back, we made our way back.
The issue was becoming more and more formidable. I thought if I went to the cave where the monsters had been, we would find a gate to go with Des back. But the road there seemed unpaved and full of obstacles. Once we achieved a victory, another problem was added to what we already had.
This problem was the 'human-monsters'. Monsters, which according to Su Ming, were 'higher beings'. Monsters that knew how to cast spells and magic.
Des knew nothing about them. They were not in her novel. Not even in my novel. I hadn't read mine up until the end, but I had looked at the last chapters out of curiosity. I did this many times. I spoiled myself. But I did it of my own free will.
When I remembered my novel, I realized that Alex and Daryl could use their powers near me. And when I told them on the way, they tried to do various things near me, such as lighting talismans and so on, and they could do just fine. Which was even weirder. No disciple, according to the sect leaders, could use his powers near me. Why could Alex and Daryl? Was it because they were from the novel I was reading?
I didn't pay much attention to the fact and ignored it. Now, we had other things to deal with.
"It's definitely a corpse," Wei Wuxian said as he stared at the teacher in the middle of Gusu's room. He shook him with the tip of a flute he was holding. "But it looks like a weak corpse. He probably did not have much resentment in life."
"And that brought him to his knees?" I expressed my question out loud.
Wei Wuxian made another circle around the corpse. He growled lightly. "I do not think so. The fact that it does not have resentment means that it cannot be easily controlled. But if he had not, he might not have become a corpse. Was he paralyzed before becoming a corpse?"
I looked at Alex and Daryl. They shook their heads. "We do not know. But apparently not. "
"Hmm" said Wei Wuxian and touched his chin with the tip of the flute. "I want to go there."
"No."
Before I could open my mouth, Lan Wanji caught up with me. "It is dangerous," he concluded.
Wei Wuxian pouted as a baby. "Lan Zhaaaan. Come on, please. We can go together..."
"No."
This time the 'no' came from Jiang Cheng. "You will sit here. If you go there, all they want to do is imprison you and take you to these 'beings' to show them how to control corpses. You are looking for your death!"
I noticed a kind of concern in his voice. Behind the mask, he seemed to care about his brother.
"Jiang Cheng is right," I said. Maybe it was not my position to express an opinion, since I was 'invited' to this world, but I couldn't not do it. If all this was connected to the portals and us, then we were basically to blame for everything. "They kept the disciple so you will go," I continued. "They wanted you over there to show them that. When they saw that we had come, they tried to hide the fact that they had the boy. But Su Ming is a terrible liar and his behavior betrayed everything. And because they saw that we didn't back down, they decided to give us the boy, before we saw that his legs were cut off. Maybe they believed that they would make it out alive, as a village, because they would pass on the message that the beings wanted to pass on to us. But the teacher would stay that way. Something A-Si didn't want."
"Why would these 'beings' want to show them to control corpses? This path of cultivation brings only a bad end!" Nie Mingjue started to get angry.
I put my hand on my chin and caressed it. "Because maybe with controlling the corpses, they have power over this area. They are 'beings'. We do not know what they are. They are not 'monsters' as they mentioned in the village. We do not know what we are dealing with. However, we are dealing with beings that are intelligent. If they could do something to the teacher, maybe they know something about cultivation already. But perhaps controlling corpses is still beyond their power."
Lan Xichen took a step forward and looked at the corpse. The corpse was looking at the floor and growling quietly.
"But what were they trying to do by healing the corpse?" expressed his question aloud.
He was right. These corpses looked like zombies. In other words, they were zombies. But why indeed? Could they really cure him completely? What if it was a bluff? What if the teacher was not an ordinary corpse?
"The teacher is dead for years," said Lan Qiren for the first time. As the greatest and wisest in there, we all turned to listen to him carefully. "Logically something happened and someone brought him to life, either by mistake or by his own will," he gave a sly look at Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian obviously hid behind Lan Zhan. "But," he continued. "Apparently the teacher came back halfway. He could not move at all. A useless corpse. His daughter found him and held him back. And she wanted to bring him back. Have you ever been told anything like that?" he looked at Wei Wuxian again.
He came out behind Lan Zhan, his hiding place. "I have been told to bring so many people back to life that I have lost count."
Lan Qiren sighed. "Let's say as you say, that... the corpse did not have much resentment and it was difficult to control but also to become a normal corpse properly. If there is such a thing of course. Why did they know about the corpse?"
He was right. How did they know about the teacher?
"It is obvious that someone told them. They asked them to cure him. Everyone in this village is a liar," Daryl said angrily.
"Were they asked to cure the teacher when they brought the boy?" did Des.
Alex seemed to be thinking. Then he spoke.
"Let's say that the 'beings' came first to meet the villagers. I will call them like this from now on. 'Beings'. The beings brought with them the YunmenJiang disciple to pass a message. They wanted Master Wei there to show them how to control corpses, for reasons that, no matter how much we think about it, are not clear to us. And they told Su Ming that if he brought Wei Wuxian there and showed them, the beings would not attack the village again and nowhere else. If he does not bring Master Wei, they will all end up like the disciple. It was essentially a threat. Either you bring him in and you get a bonus, or you die. And somewhere there may be A-Si in the story, asking to cure her father. They do her a favor. And another bonus. Maybe to show their strength and what they are capable of."
"They are desperate," I heard myself say. Everyone's eyes turned to me.
"They are desperate," I repeated. "Obviously they want to control the corpses to beat us more easily. Their whole deal is a huge lie and a bluff. But why? Are they afraid we will defeat them? Because we already had a victory? Or are they in a hurry? And why? Something tells me that they are running out of time. But why again? What are they looking for? If they have logic and are not monsters, why do they want this place?"
"Is there logic in evil? These 'beings' control those other monsters with the horns. There is no logic, only evil," said Lan Qiren.
"Of course there is logic," I said.
Everyone looked at me again. The silence that always followed me, made its reappearance. Everyone's eyes seemed skeptical and a little frightened. Why? Why did they not want to admit it? Not everyone was bad by nature. This is what life has taught me. Books and movies too.
"If there is no logic in evil, there is reason in evil," I continued. "There may be a source that gushes forth evil because it was born and exists. But these are only in fairy tales. People, monsters, bad guys: Everyone turns to that path for a reason. Either one or many reasons. And sometimes, their words make a lot of sense."
Lan Qiren's eyebrow played. "You are talking nonsense!" he shouted. "I thought I was starting to like you, but you are a fool! Evil has no reason. Murder has no reason. Everything is a choice."
I tried to keep my composure. "I will agree," I said. "Everything is a choice. But it is the situations and the reasons that lead us to these choices. Instead of fearing evil, would not it be wiser to understand it? Shouldn't we strike from the inside out?" "What do you mean Maiden Charlie?" Jin Guangyao spoke.
I looked at the teacher in front of me. The image of what I had gone through, the corpse's hand inside me back in those woods, reappeared in my mind, but I managed to drive it away.
"I mean, let's hit them from the inside. And from the outside. Like I said, it seems to me that they are desperate; they seem to be in a hurry. Shouldn't we send Wei Wuxian to show them how to supposedly control corpses and attack them at the same time?"
Lan Zhan automatically moved in front of Wei Wuxian. "No," he said sternly.
"We are making him a bait and a hostage. They also said that if he showed them to control the corpses, they would stop attacking the villages. It's dangerous, Charlie. You said it before. It is very possible that the beings are lying" said Des.
I looked at my friend. "Exactly. Did you hear what you just said? Remember?" I turned to Alex and Daryl. "Su Ming said that if Wei Wuxian showed them, they would stop attacking the villages and us. If or when? Will they stop attacking only when they learn to control them completely? What is the meaning then? And here is their cleverness. They make it appear that we have bonuses, when in fact we gain nothing. I doubt if they had the slightest willingness to cure the teacher."
My words seemed to strike loudly. The situation didn't seem simple. We didn't know the enemy. And that was the enemy that controlled those monsters with the horns. And obviously the enemy we would face if we went to the cave.
"I will go."
Wei Wuxian's voice broke the silence.
Lan Zhan looked at him. "Wei Ying!" he grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "It is dangerous. How will you go? What if you do not come back? If..."
"Lan Zhan" Wei Wuxian took his friend's hands in his own. "I will be fine, really."
"I will come too."
"No" he seemed determined. "I will go alone."
"Sorry" Des did. "We do not think logically. Residents may know that Wei Wuxian knows how to control corpses, but the beings have no idea. They just said they wanted to learn to control corpses. I don't know if they knew and brought back the Jiang disciple on purpose. Maybe we can send someone else," she suggested.
"They will see through it soon," Wei Wuxian countered. "I have to go. I can delay them until you come and face the monsters up to the cave. And when you get to the cave, I will knock from inside. I can also get information on how the girls came here. So, I'll wait for you to save me."
Sadness and anger appeared in Lan Zhan's eyes. But Jiang Cheng caught up with him.
"Wei Wuxian!" he barked. "Do you have a hero syndrome? What is your problem?! Why do you want to keep taking the risk? What will happen... what will become of our sister? Have you thought about it? My parents are gone and the three of us are the ones left. You promised that you would be here and we would all be together. You promised her that!"
"Sister?" Des's eyes widened.
Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth. His gaze fell to the floor.
"I know," he said. Then he fixed his gaze on his brother. "I know. But we have no other choice. They may stop attacking villages, but I will not be able to delay them forever. I will delay them. And I will wait for you to come and save me. If I do not... Jiang Cheng, not only the cultivation world will be in danger, but also our sister. Think A-Ling. Do you want us to leave him an orphan?"
His words seemed to strike hard at Jiang Cheng, whose gaze darkened and he spoke no more.
"Maiden Charlie," said Wei Wuxian, and approached me. "I will accept your proposal. It is a very good idea. I will try to cure the teacher before I go. Whatever I can do. Do we have time?"
I swallowed. All eyes fell on me again. I felt uncomfortable and the cold room seemed frozen.
"I don't know," I replied. "But I do not think we have much time. In my opinion, they are in a hurry. And we have to move fast."
Wei Wuxian nodded. And the rest of the people in the room threw glances at me that would have killed a person if they had been in the form of a weapon.