The Stone Castles (石城堡, Shí Chéngbǎo) are located within Qinghe territory, near Xinglu Ridge. Despite the rumor that they are "man-eating castles," they are actually the Nie family's Ancestral Hall, or Saber Offering Hall.
Appearance[]
The Stone Castles were made of grayish-white stones, with their surfaces covered in green vines and fallen leaves. Every one of them was made into strange semi-spheres, appearing as if a few large bowls were turned over on the ground. They were without windows and doors,[1] and inside the castles, the coffins housed sabers instead of corpses.[2]
Purpose[]
The sabers cultivated by the Qinghe Nie Clan became strong enough to persist in their desire to kill evil spirits even after their owner's death. As this created havoc and bloodshed, the sixth head of the Nie Clan proposed a solution to appease the sabre spirits. He built a tomb for the sabres of his father and grandfather and buried with them a number of corpses that were about to turn into fierce corpses. This way, the sabres could continue to fight with evil spirits even after their owners' deaths. Nie Huaisang insisted that no one was murdered to fill the tombs; the Nie Clan simply collected bodies, even paying high prices for the corpses.
The legend of the "Man-Eating Castles" began when a group of tomb robbers broke into one of the tombs about fifty years prior to the present day. In the process, they destroyed the corpses that were keeping the Sabre Spirits appeased. In order to maintain the balance of corpses in the castle, the castle sealed itself off and the tomb robbers then became replacements for the corpses they destroyed. The rumor of "Man-Eating Castles" was therefore true, albeit not quite as sinister as the rumors made it sound.[3]
Security Measures[]
Under Nie Huaisang's guidance, the Qinghe Nie Clan used three security measures to prevent the disruption of their Ancestral Hall. To prevent ordinary people from venturing too close to the Stone Castle, Nie Clan first spread rumors of "Man-Eating Castles," and secondly, surrounded the castle with low-level walking corpses. Thirdly, a Maze Array was added to keep out cultivators.[3]
Jin Ling Incident[]
After being informed of a supposed "Man-Eating Castle" by a local charlatan, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji promptly investigated. Wei Wuxian's mere presence frightened the walking corpses away, and Lan Wangji quickly solved the maze array. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were then alerted to the presence of Jin Ling in the area by his dog Fairy.
With the aid of Inquiry, the two found Jin Ling buried within the walls of a stone castle.[2] Nie Huaisang later explains that Jin Ling had accidentally destroyed a corpse while breaking into one of the castles, which resulted in his burial within the wall to replace the corpse he had destroyed.[3]
After discovering a connection between the Stone Castles and the Demonic Left Arm, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji returned to find Nie Huaisang rebuilding the castle that was damaged by Jin Ling. Wei Wuxian requested that Nie Huaisang remove all of the male corpses from the walls and strip them of their pants to find the demonic arm's missing legs. Lan Wangji volunteered for this task, using Bichen to rip the corpses' pants around the knee area. They promptly discovered the legs of the corpse they were trying to find, sewn onto another body.[4]
Animation Divergence[]
In the Animation, the incident with the grave robbers occurs ten years prior to the present day, not fifty. Moreover, the castles are the scene of a fight wherein Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji face off against the Masked Man and his assassins. The arrival of Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao eventually causes the assassins to flee.[5]
Web Series Divergence[]
In the spin-off movie Fatal Journey, Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue investigate the Stone Castles after several robbers break in, with tragic results.[6]
Trivia[]
- Nie Huaisang silently lamented that he would be slapped by all his ancestors in the afterlife for allowing Lan Wangji to strip off the pants of all the male corpses in one of the Stone Castles.[4]
References[]
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