"Mn," Lan Wangji says, pleased with, but not surprised by, Claudius' attentiveness. "Near Xinglu Ridge, we were directed to what the people of Qinghe called the man-eating castles. It took some time to track Nie Huaisang so that he would speak with us." He pauses, just for a beat, thinking of Nie Huaisang and Wei Ying's reunion with all its dizzying layers of deception. "The castles were kept by the Nie clan to house the clan's sabers, whose violent natures persisted even after their wielders' deaths."