Record of the Missing Sect Master Chapter 101-110

Chapter 101

Although Manor Lord Wei had already left, “Heaven’s Firmament” was still at the fort.

When they learned about the matter with Manor Lord Wei, all of them found it inconceivable, standing there at a loss, feeling an onslaught of pain at their colleagues’ deaths mixed with the feeling of an unexpected betrayal as well as anxiety over an uncertain, unknown future.

Within Jianghu, the statuses of “Heaven’s Firmament” and “Moon’s Shadow” were the same.

Fengxian Manor and Lingjian Pavilion. These two great powers had mutually kept one another in check for these twenty to thirty years, practically splitting the righteous faction in two. Many adventurers were used to standing on a certain side, and when they occasionally discussed matters together, they were also used to separating people into those close to them and those distant. And while the neutral faction headed by the Alliance Leader was the weakest, in recent years, this was also slowly starting to change.

As the elites among elites for the two great powers, “Heaven’s Firmament” and “Moon’s Shadow” naturally ended up experiencing the bulk of the attention, such that even the Captains’ positions outside were about equivalent to some mid-ranking sect masters’. As such, there were many adventurers who wanted to sharpen their minds in order to join even though they were from influential families.

Other than receiving others’ admiration and envy, the more important thing was that, any time a major event happened in Jianghu, “Heaven’s Firmament” and “Moon’s Shadow” would forever be at the forefront of it, akin to gods of war, maintaining the peace of Jianghu.

To uphold virtue and condemn evil, to preserve justice and righteousness, with both fame and fortune and a crowd of brothers who’d live and die together, and maybe even the opportunity to get to know some beautiful women. Even if they wished for a lifetime, the typical adventurers weren’t able to live like that.

So as time passed, this also became a sort of conviction.

But now this conviction of “Heaven’s Firmament” was about to become a joke.

With reddened eyes, no matter what, they weren’t willing to believe that this was true. A small portion of them even wanted to turn around and leave, but at this time, the Captain spoke, “Since the day I entered ‘Heaven’s Firmament’, I became a man of Fengxian Manor for life.”

The squad members looked at him. “Captain…”

“Even if there are problems with the Manor Lord, Fengxian Manor still exists, and ‘Heaven’s Firmament’ also still exists.” The Captain said in a heavy voice, “What’s more, it’s not even the final moment yet, so we can’t make any hasty judgments. We still need to investigate clearly these complex rights and wrongs. When did the people of ‘Heaven’s Firmament’ stop having even this bit of courage?”

The squad members’ spirits shook, and they called out as one, “That’s right!”

With these words, they then decided to stay behind.

Over these years, Fengxian Manor had never gotten along with Lingjian Pavilion, and they found Pavilion Master Ding extremely displeasing to the eye, while Wenren Heng and Sir Xiao’s relationship with their Manor Lord was too complicated, so they wouldn’t do either. In the end, the Captain finally went to find Abbot Ciyuan and Sect Leader Xuanyang to tell the two that they wanted to continue following everyone. Although the Manor Lord wasn’t around, Fengxian Manor was still here.

— Fengxian Manor was still here.

With Fengxian Manor’s strength, his saying this wasn’t simply misplaced confidence. Abbot Ciyuan and Sect Leader Xuanyang understood that he wanted to investigate these matters clearly, and even if they were worried that there could be a possible spy, they still didn’t have much reason to send these people away, so they agreed.

The people of “Heaven’s Firmament” thus went with them to where they had parked the carriages, still following the Captain as per usual, in an orderly and solemn manner.

Before he got on the carriage, Ye You gave them a look. With a bit of praise in his tone, mixed in with a certain air of ambiguity, he said, “As expected of such a long-standing major sect; truly not the same.”

Wenren Heng said, “Yes, if Wei Jiangyue can bear it in the future, then the Wei family won’t fall.”

Ye You made a sound in agreement, his tone extremely even.

Wenren Heng looked at him, “When everything is finished, what do you want to do?”

Ye You said, “What does Senior Brother think I’ll do?”

Wenren Heng gave him a profound look. “I’ll still say the same thing

— whatever you want to do, I’ll accompany you; it’s fine as long as you’re happy.”

Ye You fell silent for a while before saying, in a soft voice, “The first two years when I returned, I was truly filled with hatred. My clan members were so thoroughly massacred that many couldn’t even be found with intact corpses, but their families were happy and harmonious. What gives them the right? At that time, I really wanted to set some traps and pick off their families one by one until no one was left.”

Wordlessly, Wenren Heng pulled this person into an embrace, stroking his head. Ye You closed his eyes as he leaned against the other, unconsciously wanting to speak further. However, at this time, he heard the sound of footsteps carry over and so pulled himself out of the embrace in order to sit properly. The next moment, Xie Junming pulled open the carriage curtains, bringing along Elder Baili to climb in as ostentatiously as he pleased.

Wenren Heng rather tenderly looked at his subordinate, wanting to ask him why he didn’t drive off the carriage quicker and instead had left an opportunity for this rascal to come in.

“…” The scarred man was sitting outside the carriage, meeting the Sect Master’s eyes with complete innocence.

What kind of person was Xie Junming? If he was determined to

enter, then even if I managed to make the carriage fly, it wouldn’t be of any use.

Wenren Heng then retracted his gaze and looked at a certain person not-very-happily.

Ye You also looked at Xie Junming, smiling as he raised a brow. “Why aren’t you accompanying your little brother?”

Xie Junming assessed him, faintly feeling that this person’s mood didn’t seem to be very good, but Ye You was already used to hiding his pain over the years and had already practiced the art of controlling his emotions to perfection, so he exposed not a single flaw. Xie Junming could only shelve his examination and said, “He just keeps looking at me as if he’s going to cry, as if I’ve abandoned him before or something. So aren’t I here because I’m afraid my darling will be jealous?”

When he finished speaking, he looked at Elder Baili. “Darling, are you jealous?”

Elder Baili didn’t even need to think to say, “Yes.” Xie Junming waved a hand at Ye You. “You see?” Ye You glanced at his subordinate.

Elder Baili averted his gaze in bitter anguish, refusing to meet the Sect Master’s gaze. He also didn’t want to, but the Fort Master wasn’t able to control this scourge Xie Junming, only the Sect Master could. Wasn’t he here in a simple bid to get some peace and quiet?

Wenren Heng didn’t want to acknowledge them and said to his subordinate, “Let’s go. Let them off when we arrive at the next county town.”

Xie Junming was acutely aware of the problem. “Where do you two want to go now?”

Ye You said, “There’s a small matter that we have to take care of.” Xie Junming said, “Oh, we can’t come along?”

Ye You looked at him, smiling.

Xie Junming then shrugged, giving up.

The party continued in fits and bursts and, in the afternoon, reached a small county town that wasn’t far from Wanping Weir.

Wenren Heng found those elders to tell them that his Junior Brother’s health was too weak and that it had never recovered from its last injury before being soaked in water at Wanping Weir, which made the person’s body truly unsuitable for such a lengthy journey. Thus, he decided to stay and rest for two days before leaving, so the elders should go ahead first.

Academy Master Ge said, “Then why don’t we also rest and reorganize for two days? We can also take better care if we all leave together.”

Wenren Heng said, “No need. We also have some other things to do, and after two days, we’ll go to Wuyun City to find all of you.”

Those elders immediately knew that this was the main reason, and Pavilion Master Ding asked, “Something to do with the white piece?”

Wenren Heng said, “No, it’s personal business.” Since he spoke like that, it wouldn’t look good for these elders to continue questioning him, so they could only confirm once again that these two people weren’t going to meet the white piece before then yielding. The next morning, they then led the way to continue hurrying towards Wuyun City, while Wenren Heng and Sir Xiao remained at the small county town.

Ding Xilai originally also wanted to stay behind, but when he heard that it was to take care of personal matters, he could only tactfully leave.

He first had a good sleep in the carriage before eating a bit and then running outside to take care of business. Only then did he sluggishly become aware of something and asked, “Shaotian, where’s Brother Wei?”

Ren Shaotian said, “I don’t know. He was already gone in the morning.”

Ding Xilai said, “He was sent out by my dad?” Ren Shaotian said, “Most likely.”

Ding Xilai didn’t understand. “Where would he go at this kind of time?”

Ren Shaotian didn’t speak and, upon seeing the young master shooting several glances at him, felt the corners of his mouth lift in an indistinct smile. He said, “If I didn’t guess wrong, Captain is probably still in the small county town.”

“Why…” Ding Xilai paused then whooshed up straight. “My dad wanted him to keep an eye on Sir Xiao?”

Ren Shaotian said, “Yes. Sir Xiao and Sect Master Wenren are the black piece, and there’s even less need to mention that they have hostages in their hands, so the white piece would be contacting them if the white piece was going to contact anyone. The Pavilion Master definitely feels uneasy letting them remain behind, but since the Pavilion Master sent the Captain over this obviously, I think that those elders all know, and maybe they’ve even sent their own people as well.”

Ding Xilai was enlightened and immediately asked, “What about you? You aren’t afraid for Sir Xiao’s safety?”

Ren Shaotian said, “Nothing will happen with the Captain there.” Ding Xilai said, “Is Brother Wei a match for that monster?”

Ren Shaotian silently shook his head.

Ding Xilai suggested, “Anyway, there are already so many people over there, so why don’t we secretly sneak over?”

Ren Shaotian said, “No.”

The young master’s safety was naturally the most important.

Ding Xilai looked at him and, feeling that the other wouldn’t be moved, could only resign himself.

On the other side, Wenren Heng and Ye You had finished buying things and had gone outside the city together.

Around the Winter Clothing Festival, the road was filled with common people preparing to pay respects to ancestors, with some walking forward in a hurry with cloth bundles, very likely traveling directly to the graves themselves, while others had conversely found an empty space on the side of the road and squatted down to burn some paper. Occasionally, one could even hear a few suppressed sobs, and against the gray backdrop of the sky, it made everything seem even more desolate.

Ye You was pulled along by his Senior Brother. They found a place with fewer people and faced the direction of Heji Mountain before lighting some paper money. Since this place was too far from Heji Mountain, they weren’t able to make it over there, so they could only use this kind of method to grieve for their departed Master. Wenren Heng said, “When everything is over, let’s go back and light some incense for Master, and we can also take the time to tell him that we’re finally together.”

Ye You couldn’t help but smile slightly. “Would Master get angry?”

Wenren Heng said, “Before he passed away, he told me to take good care of you, so he probably won’t be. Besides, over these years, I’ve always spoken about these things with him, so he already knows that I had those kinds of intentions towards you.”

Ye You was curious. “Then what kinds of things have you said?”

“I said that you never listen, and that you always avoid me.” Wenren Heng looked at him. “Over these years, did you send people to keep an eye on me?”

Ye You flatly denied, “No.”

“No?” Wenren Heng didn’t believe him.

Over these years, every Grave-sweeping Day, Ghost Festival, and Winter Clothing Festival254, he very rarely met his Junior Brother on Heji Mountain, even though he alternated between going early and going late every time. This scoundrel had definitely been purposely avoiding him.

Ye You didn’t want to invite disaster onto himself and, having a clear view of things, maintained his silence. Wenren Heng also didn’t want to settle accounts with him at this time and simply held his hand before then letting him go. The two both didn’t speak any further, lowering their heads to look at the ground, waiting for the paper money to burn mostly away before starting to walk back.

After entering the small county town, Wenren Heng then called over the people of Shuangji Sect, instructing them about a few things in a low voice, before then pulling his Junior Brother onto the carriage and quickly leaving town.

The members of Shuangji Sect lagged behind them by a step in setting out. They observed for half a day in order to get a rough idea of the people who were following the Sect Master, and then when they once again stopped to rest, the scarred man took the initiative to find these people, speaking a few words regarding, “Why are all of you following my Sect Master,” “have you fallen for Sir Xiao,” “are you thinking of harming my Sect Master,” and so on and so forth.

Only when the other party had guaranteed for the third time that they wouldn’t cause them any harm did he drop the subject, tacitly accepting these people’s presence.

For the rest of the way, the two parties maintained an ideal distance, one in front and the other behind, following the carriage until they reached an unnamed small river. Afterwards, they stopped moving.

That group of people watched for a long while, and Wei Jin was the first to perceive that something wasn’t quite right. With large steps, he walked forward and, disregarding the scarred man’s attempt to stop him, pulled open the carriage curtains, only to see that there weren’t even any signs that anyone had ever been there. They had already long slipped away who-knew-when.

The group, “…”

The scarred man said, “Why are all of you looking at me like that? Did I ever say that the Sect Master and Sir Xiao were in here?”

The group endured the impulse to give him a beating before turning around and leaving.

At this time, Ye You had already put on a disguise and arrived at Huayang City with his Senior Brother.

Only one day of travel was needed to reach Huayang City from the small county town, and this was also how Ye You instantly understood where his Senior Brother meant when the other asked Ye You that question previously.

On the road there, there were still many people paying respects to their ancestors. Ye You bought a bottle of wine and surreptitiously handed it over to the Yang family’s grave keeper before entering the cemetery.

At this time, the day was already late, and the fiery-red of the setting sun covered half the sky, like the color of blood.

Although Sir Yang had left Huayang City, the grave sweeping255 had already been done by the people of the Yang family residence. Fruits were placed in front of the gravestones and on the ground were traces of paper money already having been burned; everything looked very proper and appropriate.

Ye You looked at the rows of graves before stopping at the gravestone in the very front to light the paper money that he had brought.

He was silent for a long while and only when the paper money had almost been burned completely away did he say in a low voice, “After this many years, this is the first time I’ve returned to pay my respects to them.”

Wenren Heng knew that his Junior Brother was afraid that people would have noticed that something was wrong. His heart aching, he took this person tightly in hand.

Ye You continued with, “In the past, when not many things were happening, I’d take the chance when it was night to come here and take a look. Mostly, I tried to mix in with crowds and find an empty space outside the city to burn some paper money for them. Although they weren’t lacking in money, I always felt that they’d need mine in particular. This grave was set up by those bastards. That year, after they murdered everyone, they then pretended to be good people and helped the Yang family collect the corpses. When I first came here, I really wanted to dig this grave clean out.”

Wenren Heng said, “If you want to…”

“There’s no need,” Ye You said, “This place was originally the Yang family’s ancestral tomb, and they’ve only changed it a little after what happened. In reality, after people die and arrive in the afterlife, they’ll end up drinking a bellyful of Grandma Meng’s soup256 and forget all about the past, so who would still care who buried them, or how they were buried. The only ones who care are those of us who are still living.”

Wenren Heng felt his heart ache uncontrollably.

Since guessing his Junior Brother’s identity, he had investigated what happened that year.

The fates of those three influential families were the same, and there were very few clan members whose intact corpse could be found. The most miserable, however, was the Yang family’s family head. In the end, the people could find only a head; the body was mixed into a pile of dismembered corpses, and the righteous faction didn’t know how they could put the pieces back together. Finally, they decided simply to burn them all together and bury them all into one tomb.

Since he was able to learn of this, then his Junior Brother definitely already knew long ago that his father and mother weren’t left with even an intact corpse.

He couldn’t help but pull this person into an embrace from behind. “In the future, I’ll accompany you.”

Ye You made a sound in acknowledgment and patted his arm. “Senior Brother, I want to say a few words with them alone.”

Wenren Heng naturally acceded to his wishes, letting him go and then leaving. When he turned back to take a look, he saw that his Junior Brother had already knelt down in front of the grave. The person kowtowed to the gravestone three times and, as it turned out, actually did say only a few words, before standing up and walking over.

Wenren Heng had a faint guess and asked, “What did you say?” Ye You said, “Nothing really.”

Just now, he had said that he was just about to take revenge for them, but that he hoped that they could forgive him, because the Yang family line was going to end with him257. Similarly, their daughter-in-law’s family line was also going to end, but he and his Senior Brother are very happy, and very at ease, together. In this life, he felt it was enough just to have this, and he wished for nothing else.

He looked at his Senior Brother and finally added a few more words, saying with a smile that was not quite a smile, “I told them that I found them a daughter-in-law.”

Wenren Heng declined to comment. Shooting a glance at the alcohol in the other’s hands, he asked, “Did you buy this wine to drink?”

The small smile on Ye You’s lips was swiftly stowed away by a few degrees, and he shook his head and said, “No.”

Wenren Heng had also thought it was out of character, which was why he had asked, and upon hearing this, he looked at the other.

Ye You said, “I’ll take you to a certain place.”

The place he wanted to go was a valley outside of Huayang City.

Wenren Heng remembered this place. When his Junior Brother had been amnesiac, this was the first place where the other had spat blood, and it was also due to this incident that, later, when he heard from his Junior Brother about how those who lost their memories practicing Pursued Until Scattered couldn’t become angry or excited, he was able to guess that his Junior Brother was a person from the Yang family.

The only thing he wasn’t clear on was why his Junior Brother had spent several days at the Yang family residence without incident but, right upon reaching this valley, the other had been provoked into spitting blood.

Now that the flowering season was over, the Liuzhu flower had long already withered, leaving behind only dried up leaves and branches, stagnating there in the dark valley, still and quiet.

Ye You opened that jug of wine and splashed it into the valley. He said, “I was the one who planted all these flowers. My mother had always really liked Liuzhu flowers.”

Wenren Heng quietly listened, not speaking. Ye You found a place to sit down and also didn’t speak.

Wenren Heng sat with him for a while and, keenly feeling that his mood was even worse than the one he had while at the cemetery, couldn’t help but give him a look.

Ye You said, “Every time I come here, my mood is never good.” Wenren Heng said, “Then let’s go back?”

Ye You said, “You aren’t curious?”

Wenren Heng said, “I’m curious, but if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you.”

Ye You said, “You won’t force me to speak in the future either?”

Wenren Heng considerately nodded. “I won’t force you to speak in the future either. If you ever want to come here again, I’ll still come with you.”

Ye You stood up in satisfaction. “Then let’s go back.” Wenren Heng, “…”

Ye You lowered his head to look at the other, his lips carrying a slight, imperceptible smile. Wenren Heng was helpless and could only stand up as well, using actions to tell him that “if I say I won’t ask, I won’t ask”. Ye You finally stopped teasing him, because he knew that if they came enough times in the future, his Senior Brother would definitely want to know.

“It actually isn’t much, and so many years have passed already.” He once again stowed away his smile and looked towards the valley. “That year when I fled, I didn’t dare take any official roads, sticking to some small paths. As a result, midway, I suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats behind me and grew afraid, so I went to hide.

Coincidentally, this place was where I hid.”

He stilled for a moment before saying, “Later, I heard the sounds of people approaching, and believing that I had been discovered, I was so scared that I didn’t dare to breathe. And even later, I heard a person say, ‘That surnamed Yang actually dared to burn the secret book; I want it so that not even his body will be left intact after his death.'”

Wenren Heng thought of how the Yang family head had been left with only a head and immediately guessed a possibility. His pupils contracted, and he said in a low voice, “Don’t speak anymore…”

“It was even worse than what you’re thinking.” Ye You knew his Senior Brother had guessed it and said, “There’s only this one valley outside of Huayang City, and the place can’t even be considered too desolate, so they didn’t simply throw all my father’s bones down here. Instead, they actually used their internal energy to break those bones into pieces before throwing them down. At that time, I was right down there and didn’t dare to make a sound. And after they left, I also didn’t dare to stay behind to collect my father’s corpse.

When I finally had the means and the strength to return, I could no longer find even a single piece of bone anymore…”

Wenren Heng pressed the person into an embrace. “That’s enough, Ah-You.”

Ye You said, “At that time, I was too small, so even if I try to identify them now, I already can’t tell who exactly said those words that time. Anyway, it’ll be fine if I just kill them all.”

Wenren Heng said, “Yes.”

For twenty years, Ye You had stifled this hatred for far too long, and so he quickly calmed down. On the contrary, as it was actually Wenren Heng’s first time hearing about this entire matter from beginning to end, even after returning to the inn, the person couldn’t let go of this matter for a long time, even leading Ye You to say, in comfort, “Senior Brother, people have to look forward in life.”

You’re the one my heart is aching for.

Wenren Heng helplessly gave him a look before pulling the person into an embrace and patting his back. Ye You unconsciously wanted to give some more words of comfort, but his Senior Brother’s embrace was too warm, the temperature seemingly capable of seeping right into his heart. He lowered his eyes and couldn’t help indulging in this warmth, leaning against his Senior Brother.

The two rested for only a night, and they left Huayang City the next day to hurry towards Wuyun City. Around noon, they arrived at a small town and picked a restaurant, going upstairs to eat.

After observing the entire way, Wenren Heng felt that, although his Junior Brother’s spirits had recovered quite a bit, it was still a bit different compared to the other’s usual mood. Thus, he ordered an entire table of food that his Junior Brother liked while also asking for a jug of wine.

Ye You drank a sip and, licking his lips, said fussily, “Not as good as ‘Fengzui’.”

Wenren Heng was practically about to be angered into laughter. “Darling, where would we be able to find ‘Fengzui’ for you in a town this size?”

Ye You said, “I wasn’t being serious, but it sounds quite good to hear you call me ‘darling’. Say it again.”

Wenren Heng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and so could only call him that one more time before picking out some dishes for him, indicating that he should eat obediently.

Ye You had always been feigning weakness previously and so it had been a long time since he was able to drink alcohol. Now that he was finally able to encounter wine again after much difficulty, he then drank a few more cups than usual, and this one meal took more than an hour to end. He wiped his mouth and prepared to go to the toilet, but right as he opened the door, he hastily retreated back into the room.

Wenren Heng had just been wiping his hands and startled upon seeing this. “What?” Ye You said in a low voice, “Wei Jiangrou.”

Wenren Heng was startled again, standing up to walk to his side and ask noiselessly, “Who else?”

Ye You shook his head to indicate that he hadn’t seen, but since Wei Jiangrou was able to be here, then Manor Lord Wei and that monster should also be here. Wenren Heng understood this reasoning, but before he could speak, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from far away. The two immediately held their breaths, listening with rapt attention.

After several breaths, the Alliance Leader’s voice carried over, “Xiao- Rou, in the future, don’t just argue with someone without rhyme or reason.”

“…I didn’t do it without reason.” Wei Jiangrou sounded very wronged. “It was them who were talking bad about my dad. I was too angry, so I just argued back a few words.”

The Alliance Leader said, “Your dad is the white piece. He admitted to this with his own words.”

Wei Jiangrou said, “But my dad has hidden hardships.”

The Alliance Leader said, “You simply believe whatever he says?”

Wei Jiangrou said, “I believe him. My dad has never lied to me before.”

The Alliance Leader stilled for a moment. Ye You’s hearing ability was extraordinary, and at once, he was able to hear two other people coming up behind them, most likely the monster and Manor Lord Wei. In the next moment, the Alliance Leader spoke again, clearly having changed his tone, “Then you should still be a bit more cautious. Right now isn’t the same as before.”

This time, Wei Jiangrou listened and made a sound in agreement in a low voice.

The group slowly walked away, entering a private room. Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother. “What do you think?”

Ye You said, “Either this place happens to be along the way to wherever they want to go, or they actually want to go to the Yang family residence. Right now, the current Yang family was established personally by that surnamed Wei, and he definitely has his people within…”

He suddenly stopped.

He has people within, this meant that Manor Lord Wei didn’t have any people he could use in his hands right now.

Wenren Heng had also quickly thought of this point and shot a glance at his Junior Brother. As expected, he saw the other’s pupils contain a trace of sharpness. Grabbing hold of the other’s hand, he said, “Don’t be reckless.”

“I know,” Ye You said slowly, “but they have only four people, so they definitely have someone running errands for them. Bribe that person a little, and if we can find an opportunity to kill them, why would I not take it?”

Chapter 102

Wenren Heng said, “It’ll take only half a day to get to Huayang City from here, and they’ll leave right after they finish eating. How are you planning on killing them in this short amount of time?”

“I’m still thinking.” Ye You once again opened the door. “But first I need to make a trip to the toilet.”

For an instant, Wenren Heng was speechless, falling silent. Somewhat worried that something would happen to his Junior Brother, he then went out to remind the other to change locations so as to avoid alerting the enemy. Ye You naturally knew that since Manor Lord Wei and them had already been on the road for half a day, they might also need to use the toilet, and so had planned from the start to leave the restaurant and take care of business elsewhere.

He quickly took care of his bodily issues and sat down in a teahouse not far from the restaurant, quietly looking outside.

Wenren Heng didn’t stop his Junior Brother. In truth, with this kind of opportunity right in front of them, he also thought that they could give it a try. The problem was that they had only two people, and other than the useless Wei Jiangrou, the other party had three who were capable of fighting; their only advantage was the element of surprise.

Ye You’s thin finger tapped on the lid of the cup. As he thought, he heard someone close by talk about the nearby mountain bandits, even speaking of how ruthless they were, and he couldn’t help but shoot over a glance.

Wenren Heng said, “Have an idea?”

Ye You said, “No. What use could a group of mountain bandits be.”

Wenren Heng considered for a moment before suddenly saying, “Even if the bandits aren’t useful, other people probably would be.”

Ye You was interested. “Oh?” Wenren Heng said, “It just depends on how attached you are to that Xiaoqing Mountain of yours.”

Ye You raised a brow.

“I just remembered that Shuiyun Mountain258 is located not far from here,” Wenren Heng said, “Last time I went, Suiyun Sect259’s Sect Master actually said a few words to me about how he really liked your Xiaoqing Mountain.”

“Suiyun Sect?” Ye You was surprised. “Why do I remember that they seemed to be called Shuiyun Sect260?”

Wenren Heng said, smiling, “He didn’t like that name, so he later changed it.”

Ye You was curious. “Are you very familiar with him?”

Wenren Heng said, “We’re somewhat friendly. From my understanding of him, as long as we tell him the truth, he’s very likely to help us.”

Ye You was hesitant.

In his memories, Suiyun Sect was a sect in the neutral faction, not considered very big in scale, seemingly content with their own little corner in the world, appearing not to have much strength. Even if everyone in the sect was bundled together, there might not even be enough for that monster to pick his teeth with.

He said, “Senior Brother…”

Wenren Heng didn’t wait for him to finish speaking before taking hold of his hand, while also taking the liberty to stroke it twice with a thumb, leaning over to his ear to say in a low voice, “He’s very interested in gunpowder.”

Ye You instantly narrowed his eyes.

Now that’s a good idea. But although Shuiyun Mountain wasn’t too far from here, if they actually went, it’d still take more than two hours, and those people in that restaurant could finish eating and leave at any time. He and his Senior Brother wouldn’t make it in time if they went to go find that Sect Master to discuss matters right now, so they first needed to delay Manor Lord Wei and them.

This was very easy to do; they could just kidnap Wei Jiangrou.

The crucial point was, how exactly do they kidnap Wei Jiangrou? They couldn’t simply just rely on luck and hope that Wei Jiangrou also decided to go to the toilet, right? If the person didn’t go, wouldn’t they have simply waited in vain?

Ye You’s thoughts turned quickly.

Wenren Heng was also thinking about this and said, “We still don’t know which private room they entered.”

“Leave it to me.” Ye You thought of an idea and stood up, all smiles, to head outside.

Wenren Heng followed him and saw that the other wasn’t going to the restaurant but had instead gone to find some local hoodlums. He picked and chose for a time and also beat up two or three of them before finally finding one he was satisfied with. That hoodlum was extremely quick-witted and, with one look, could tell that these two people weren’t to be trifled with and so said, in a fawning tone, “The two masters can just directly relay any instructions you may have. If this lowly one can do it, it’ll definitely be done well.”

With a smile, Ye You took out a banknote from his chest and asked, “Are you familiar with the waiters in that restaurant?”

That hoodlum looked at the money in his hands and immediately said, “Familiar, yes! We all grew up together, so they’re practically my brothers!”

“Mn, I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I’ll keep it short. If you can do it, then do it; if you can’t, then forget it.” Ye You didn’t doubt the other’s words at all, since the small town was, after all, only this big, so it would be extremely commonplace to have those of the same age familiar with each other. He said, “Just now, four people entered that restaurant, three men and one woman. I have some business with that girl. You think of a way to get that person to come outside.”

That hoodlum blinked. “To come outside?”

Ye You said, smiling, “Make it look like an accident. Those are old Jianghu men in there, so you better not expose yourself. As long as the person comes out by herself, your task will be done. If after you’ve done all this and those people find you, it doesn’t even matter if you give me away, but there’s a certain someone among them whose temper isn’t very good. If you can avoid them, then I’d suggest finding a place to hide.”

The moment he heard this, that hoodlum was able to understand everything and licked his lips. “All right, master. You just wait and see then.”

He left right when he finished speaking, taking one other person to enter the restaurant.

Wenren Heng and Ye You changed locations and patiently waited. After a moment, they saw those two come out, looking left and right for a while, before running into the teahouse that they were in.

“Our luck is good.” That hoodlum approached subserviently. “We originally wanted to pretend to be fighting and stumble our way in, but when I asked my brothers, they told me that they luckily still had a bowl of soup they hadn’t sent in yet. This lowly one then disguised himself as a waiter and brought it in for them before purposely splashing it on that young lady’s sleeve. When this lowly one came out, she had been preparing to go to the backyard, most likely to wash it off.”

Ye You gave a word of praise, stuffed the banknote into his hands, and then stood up and left.

Wenren Heng instructed that hoodlum to hurry and hide before following his Junior Brother to leap quickly into the backyard. Before Ye You jumped, in order to check that the hoodlum hadn’t double- crossed them, he first surveyed the scene and, sure enough, saw Wei Jiangrou looking at her sleeve with a face of unhappiness. Only then did he feel at ease.

The person who brought Wei Jiangrou to the backyard was a real waiter of the restaurant. Ye You easily knocked the person unconscious and immediately sealed Wei Jiangrou’s acupoints.

Afterwards, he picked her up and left, throwing her into the carriage before hurrying toward Shuiyan Mountain.

Naturally, while entering the carriage, Wenren Heng saw people nearby looking at this kidnapping in alarm and didn’t forget to say the words, “Go, return to the mountain.”

Wei Jiangrou couldn’t move and couldn’t speak, but she could hear Wenren Heng’s voice and immediately turned to look at him.

Wenren Heng ignored her and, after instructing his subordinate about where to go with a word, sat down next to his Junior Brother, taking out a handkerchief to wipe his Junior Brother’s hands.

At this moment, that subordinate was also very alarmed.

He was alarmed because he knew that Wei Jiangrou should be together with that monster and, upon hearing what was said, feared that people would come chasing so, without another word, raised the horsewhip and began madly rushing towards Shuiyun Mountain, as if fire was nipping at his heels.

This time, he had slipped away halfway on the road with the Sect Master simply to act as a carriage driver for them. He had pulled them along on a trip to Huayang City and stayed for only one night before then beginning to hurry back, causing him practically no end of confusion, as he had absolutely no idea what they were doing. It wasn’t until now that he suddenly felt enlightened by their wisdom; so it turned out that the Sect Master and them had wanted to capture Wei Jiangrou!

But how did the Sect Master know that he would definitely be able to cross paths with Wei Jiangrou? Could it be Young Master Xiao who guessed it? Ah, to be able to guess even this, as expected of the person Sect Master took a fancy to! Such divine strategy and ingenious planning! Far too incredible!

At this time, the “divine strategist” noticed that Wei Jiangrou was continuously staring at him and so turned to give her a smile. “Lady Xiao-Rou, long time no see.”

He and Wenren Heng were both wearing disguises, but Wei Jiangrou had paid far too much attention to him before, so she was able to discern his identity the moment she heard him speak. Besides, the only one able to receive such tender treatment from Wenren Heng was him. She couldn’t help but give him a long stare, both eyes turning red.

Ye You unsealed her acupoint.

Wei Jiangrou immediately said, “What do you want to do?”

Ye You returned with a question, “What does Lady Xiao-Rou think I’ll do?”

Wei Jiangrou once again looked at Wenren Heng, helplessly calling him, “Brother Heng.”

Wenren Heng still didn’t pay her any attention, not even lifting his eyes to look at her.

Since that conversation in the forest last time, he no longer had anything left to say to her.

Unwilling to give up, Wei Jiangrou called him once again. Upon seeing him acting as if he didn’t even hear her, her eyes turned even more red, and the only thing she could do was once again look at Ah- Xiao. Sluggishly, she became aware of something and asked doubtfully, “Are… are you really Ah-Xiao? Didn’t you lose your martial arts?”

Ye You said, deadly earnest, “I relearned it.”

Wei Jiangrou at least knew a little about such matters and said, “That’s impossible. Who exactly are you?” Ye You said, “If you don’t believe me, then forget it.”

Wei Jiangrou saw that he wanted to seal her speech acupoint and hastily said, “Wait, what do you want to do with me? My dad won’t forgive you.”

Ye You said, “What a coincidence, I also won’t forgive him.” Wei Jiangrou startled. “What?”

Ye You said, “Your dad already told you that he was the white piece, isn’t that right? Then did he tell you that, that year, my and your Brother Heng’s master was driven to death by him? This is the reason why your Brother Heng is ignoring you, so it’s impossible between you two.”

Wei Jiangrou’s expression changed. “You’re lying!”

Ye You didn’t want to argue with her and simply reached out a hand to seal her acupoint. After sitting for a while, he looked towards his Senior Brother. “Brother Heng, she yelled at me just now.”

Wenren Heng laughed and pulled the person into an embrace, patting and asking, “Want to sleep for a while?”

Ye You said a, “Mhm,” and, under Wei Jiangrou’s jealous gaze, leaned into the other’s embrace before closing his eyes. Wenren Heng held him well, his eyes carrying a warm tenderness that Wei Jiangrou had never experienced before.

Her tears slowly overflowed.

With Wenren Heng by his side, Ye You was able to sleep far more steadily, and when he opened his eyes, they were just about to enter Shuiyun Mountain’s territory. He sat up and worked out the kinks in his neck before noticing that the carriage was slowly coming to a stop. He then followed his Senior Brother outside.

Suiyun Sect had been built halfway up the mountain. Ye You had never met this Sect Master before. Within his memories, this sect carried the name “Shuiyun Sect”, the same as the mountain. And he had originally believed that the Sect Master, having named the sect something so picturesque, should at least be delicate and graceful, if not a beauty. But, it was only with today’s meeting that he learned that the Sect Master was a large man over two meters high, appearance coarse and violent, and if an ordinary person saw him, then they’d definitely be scared half to death.

He somewhat faintly understood now why this person wanted to change the sect’s name.

At this time, Wenren Heng had already started chatting with the Sect Master, also taking the opportunity to introduce his Junior Brother, telling the other that this was the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master.

The Sect Master received a fright. “Isn’t he your Junior Brother? Wasn’t he called Sir Xiao before?”

Ye You smiled and said, “It’s me, but I’m also the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master.”

The Sect Master looked at these two people and was immediately confused. “But weren’t you together with Temple Master Xie?”

Wenren Heng was speechless.

He was sure that this person hadn’t participated in the recent events and so must’ve heard this from the rumors. He thus relayed the entire sequence of events once through, even speaking of the fact that his Junior Brother was a child of the Yang family. In the end, he told the other that they wanted to borrow this place to lay a trap for that monster and that, after matters were over, they would be willing to give away the Demonic Sect’s Xiaoqing Mountain as a gift in recompense.

Upon seeing the other this forthcoming, the Sect Master was at first so moved that he turned into a complete mess before then beginning to feel righteous indignation upon hearing of the matters with Elder Yu and the Yang family. Finally, when he heard that they were going to give him Xiaoqing Mountain, he suddenly slapped the table. “Don’t speak anymore. Since my brother is so willing to believe in me, then I’ll definitely do this! Forget about Xiaoqing Mountain! Such a bastard as that surnamed Wei deserves to be put to death!”

Ye You understood the other’s disposition now. So as it turned out, this person was the outspoken and straightforward kind; no wonder his Senior Brother said that as long as they told him the truth, then this person would most likely be willing to help… But they actually wanted to blow this place up. Would even that be all right?

He gave his Senior Brother a look.

Wenren Heng tacitly understood and bluntly told the Sect Master that they wanted to use gunpowder to blow people up and asked, “How about it?”

The Sect Master startled before laughing out loud, “Can do!” Wenren Heng wasn’t surprised and nodded.

Ye You didn’t completely understand and was about to give his Senior Brother another look when he heard the Sect Master continue laughing, “How great! When I finish making this move, those old men in the sect should finally understand how incredible this elder is! This time, this elder will definitely seize the opportunity to change

our name completely to Suigu Sect261! Goddammit, what do they mean by, ‘since my old man named it, I can’t change it’! Have they ever thought about how I feel!”

Ye You fell silent.

He was beginning to wonder whether those people, upon hearing that their Sect Master wanted to blow up the sect, would just jump straight into chopping him to pieces.

Chapter 103

As Ye You expected, things didn’t go that smoothly.

Although the Sect Master thought it was good, when those old men in the sect heard his thoughts, they all got a fright, shaking their heads as intensely as rattle-drums, encircling him in a blink.

Ye You watched as they dragged the Sect Master out before continuing to sit and drink tea. The Deputy Sect Master conversely remained behind to see to the guests, carrying an appropriate smile on his face and beginning a conversation with Wenren Heng.

Wenren Heng said gently, “We need to decide matters quickly. Before we left, we said that we were returning to the mountain, and now Manor Lord Wei and them have definitely already managed to learn this from questioning the common people.”

The Deputy Sect Master’s expression changed slightly.

Wenren Heng said, “But there’s a mountain stronghold near the small county town, so they most likely would go there first. If they want to find Shuiyun Mountain, they’d need to expend some effort, but that’s still something that’ll happen sooner or later. If your Sect Master can’t provide any help, then we need to leave right now, and when they come looking for us, all of you can say whatever you want.”

The Deputy Sect Master couldn’t sit still. After hastily conversing for another sentence or two, he then rushed outside to tell the Sect Master this information.

Ye You was still holding the teacup but wasn’t actually drinking and was instead listening to the movements outside.

With his hearing ability, he was faintly able to hear the conversation on that side.

At first, those old men wanted to go to the study, but the Sect Master said that good people needed to be open and candid and that it was already wrong to talk behind his brother’s back, so if they had something to say, they should say it here. Those old men couldn’t move him and could only agree before they began trying to talk sense into him.

Although the voices were disjointed, even if Ye You was simply guessing, he would be able to guess the thoughts of those old men — now that the monster wasn’t dead, and with no final judgment yet on whether Manor Lord Wei was truly a problem, isn’t the Sect Master clearly just seeking death by opposing those two people at a time like this? The former would definitely be able to massacre their entire sect, and as for the latter… what kind of position does Fengxian Manor have within Jianghu? Their Suiyun Sect wasn’t even enough for the other party to pick their teeth with!

Ye You drank a sip of tea and heard those old men say, “In short, we can’t do this.”

The Sect Master’s voice suddenly raised in volume, and he said angrily, “A real man’s word is worth its weight in gold! How can I go back on my word!”

“Then does the Sect Master want to drag us all into dying together? What’s more, this sect was established by the Elder Sect Master, and you’re talking about blowing it up! If the Elder Sect Master is able to hear this from the heavens, how heartbroken would he be!”

The Sect Master said, “What do you mean by dying together? You guys don’t know how to run? Anyway, I’m blowing up only one building.”

“But what if you’re not able to kill them? The ones who’ll die would be us. No, that’s not right, regardless of whether they’ll die from being blown up, we’re still out of luck no matter what. How would Fengxian Manor ever let us go?”

The Sect Master said, “That surnamed Wei is such a good-for- nothing, so aren’t I just getting rid of evil for the sake of Jianghu? Before, whenever I said that I wanted to change the sect’s name, all of you kept saying that I never made any contributions and didn’t listen to me. Aren’t I preparing to do something big right now!” The scene turned deathly still for an instant before those old men immediately said in unison, “So, in the end, we had this entire conversation all because you actually wanted to change the name?”

The Sect Master said, “That… that was also one of the reasons.”

“Ah, Sect Master, it was the Elder Sect Master who chose this name, so why do you keep wanting to change it? Have you seen any other sects changing their names whenever they pleased?”

The Sect Master said, “Shuiyun Sect, Shuiyun Sect, can all of you say in your heart of hearts that this sounds good? Those who know nothing about us all believe that our sect is full of women and scholars! I’m a man in the prime of my life, and all of you want me to go outside and say that I’m the Sect Master of Shuiyun Sect? Do you want to embarrass me to death?”

“…Then didn’t we agree that you could change one character?”

The Sect Master said, “Suiyun Sect also doesn’t sound good! Suigu Sect does!”

“That really doesn’t sound good.”

The Sect Master said, “What do you mean ‘it doesn’t sound good’! It has such bold flavor!”

“…”

Ye You wasn’t able to hear what followed after too clearly, so he laughed and gave his Senior Brother a somewhat astonished look.

Wenren Heng said, “What?”

Ye You said, “I’m a bit curious about how you became friends with him.”

“We met on accident one time,” Wenren Heng said, “He knew that I had established a sect myself and that it wasn’t inherited from my family, so he said that he had great respect for me and insisted on having a drink together. I saw that he was quite interesting and so we ended up chatting for a while.” Ye You nodded. At this time, the door was pushed open, and the Sect Master returned with a face full of unhappiness, going to pour out a cup of tea with a stifled head.

Wenren Heng said, “They didn’t agree?”

The Sect Master said, “They said they needed to go back and think. Who do they think they are! Such a majestic Sect Master as me can’t even make the decisions around here!”

The moment he heard this, Wenren Heng knew that those old men wanted to drag this matter out. After all, he and his Junior Brother couldn’t wait.

He said, extremely considerately, “They also have their own considerations. What’s more, they’re all elders, so they’re definitely doing it for your own good. Actually, if it’s really not possible, then we can just forget it. Since we’re brothers, I can’t let you start fighting with them on my account.”

The Sect Master said, “No, I’ve already agreed to help.”

Wenren Heng said, “But this matter is urgent, and they still haven’t agreed. I mean, you can’t just drug them all into unconsciousness before simply going through with it and then telling them only after it was all over, right?”

The Sect Master startled and then both his eyes lit up. “That’s right! Wait for me, you two!”

Right as he finished speaking, he whooshed to his feet, turned around, and ran away.

Having seen something incomparably good, Ye You couldn’t help but look at his Senior Brother.

Wenren Heng was especially calm, looking for all the world as if he wasn’t the one who had purposely given his brother such a rotten idea.

Perhaps it was that those old men had never imagined that their own forthright Sect Master could drug them, or perhaps it was that this was the Sect Master’s first time doing this sort of thing so he had done it much more cautiously, but in the end, the Sect Master succeeded without incident. Afterwards, staring at the Sect Master howling in laughter and the roomful of elders in a complete mess on the floor, the Deputy Sect Master and a group of sect members were all practically struck dumb.

Seeing that matters had finally been settled, Wenren Heng came out to provide a few suggestions, advising the Sect Master to send all these people away, so as to avoid any mishap.

The Sect Master felt that this made sense and so instructed his subordinates to lift the people away.

The Deputy Sect Master was a complete mess, internally wondering how many terrible deeds he had performed in his last life in order to have met such a Sect Master in this one. While he had heard about other masters also causing much torment — for instance Xie Junming — he still felt that their Sect Master was still a bit more demented in comparison.

When he passed by, Wenren Heng said in a low voice, “Don’t worry, I won’t harm him.”

The Deputy Sect Master coldly snorted, “If only.”

Although dissatisfied, the Deputy Sect Master still obeyed his Sect Master’s instructions and began to organize all the sect members’ retreat.

First, he more or less believed in Wenren Heng’s character. Second, right now, there wasn’t any time to waste, so he needed to use the time wisely. Third, the fact that “Manor Lord Wei had left with the monster” was the truth, so regardless of whether Manor Lord Wei was truly a problem, they now had Shuangji Sect and the Demonic Sect on their side, as well as a Wuwang Temple which had good relations with the Demonic Sect, so even if Fengxian Manor wanted to cause trouble for them, those people would still have to weigh whether it’d be worth the consequences. In the time they were withdrawing, Wenren Heng took the opportunity to look at the layout of Suiyun Sect with his Junior Brother.

The Sect Master said, “There’s no need to look. I’ve already thought it through. Let’s go, let’s go, I’ll take you two to see my gunpowder room.”

Wenren Heng and Ye You’s interests were piqued. Upon following him into a stone room, they saw that the room contained quite a bit of gunpowder, along with even a row of contraptions. Wenren Heng’s heart skipped a beat. “These contraptions…”

“Oh, I bought those a short while ago,” the Sect Master said. He told them that he had bought these originally in order to combine the contraptions and the gunpowder together as a test, but since he had just gotten them recently, he had dismantled only a portion, and he hadn’t yet gotten around to dismantling the rest.

He sighed. “If you two had come a few days later, I might’ve been able to show you the final product then, and then we’d be just in time to use them. Ah, how unfortunate.”

It truly wasn’t the least bit unfortunate.

The two thought in their hearts.

Ye You looked at him. “Many thanks for the help this time. If the Sect Master meets with trouble some other day, then you can certainly come find me.”

The Sect Master was very straightforward, “No need. Since you’re Sect Master Wenren’s Junior Brother, then you’re also my…”

He unconsciously wanted to say, “my Junior Brother,” but in the blink of an eye, he remembered that this was the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master and, in the end, didn’t dare to act that rudely, changing his words on the spot to, “You’re also my friend. Friends should naturally help each other out!”

Ye You laughed and said, “Then may I trouble the Sect Master to call over two people to move out these contraptions as well.” The Sect Master didn’t understand. “What do you want to do with the contraptions? Didn’t you want the gunpowder?”

“I want both the contraptions and the gunpowder,” Ye You said, all smiles, “I’m going to leave a few gifts for Lady Xiao-Rou.”

The Sect Master still didn’t understand, but he still called over a few people, and after giving those people a word of instruction, he then brought the two over to the room he had previously decided on.

This was a small wooden building, framed by the mountain, very suited to being buried by explosives. And a few explosives could also be placed on the upper body of the mountain, perhaps even allowing some large stones to be blown up in order to cause a rock slide. The Sect Master said, “Right now, the most important question is how to lure them over here.”

Ye You smiled and said, “That’s easy, just leave it to me.”

The Sect Master was very curious. Immediately following, he saw the other knock Wei Jiangrou unconscious before lifting her into the room and tying her to a chair, placing her dead-center in the room.

Ye You said, “Carry all the furniture away and bring the contraptions inside.”

With a wave of the Sect Master’s hand, the sect members entered in a single file, cleanly and neatly burying the gunpowder, moving the furniture, and carrying in the contraptions.

Ye You waited for them to finish before indicating for them to leave. He met his Senior Brother’s gaze and, with tacit understanding, began to mess around with those contraptions. Many had already been opened, and the two neatly laid out the ones that could still be used, while carelessly putting back together the unusable ones, likewise leaving them in the room. They also used several strands of thread, twining and twisting, making everything look extremely complex.

“…” The Sect Master slowly began to be able to guess what they had decided and was immediately startled. After silently watching for a while, he followed them outside with light steps. Having arrived midway through, the Deputy Sect Master was also very speechless when he saw this, and shooting them a look, he said hesitantly, “This is…”

Ye You said, “Think we’re being too vicious?” The Deputy Sect Master fell silent.

Ye You said, “Don’t worry, it’s impossible for her to die.” The Deputy Sect Master asked, “Why?”

Ye You said, “Because there’s people who won’t let her die. The people coming are experts and will definitely protect her. Ah, I really hope that a few of them will die when the time comes.”

This voice was mixed with a sliver of sharp killing intent.

Upon seeing that his eyes were narrowed, carrying both expectation and interest in those pupils, lending a somewhat evil air to his entire person, the Deputy Sect Master shut up at once.

Ye You said, “All of you should leave. I’ll stay behind.”

The Sect Master said, “That won’t do. We’ll stay with you.”

Ye You said, “No need. It’s only lighting a fire, so just me alone will be enough. Or else when that monster comes and sees all of you here, he’ll definitely kill all of you in passing.”

The Sect Master couldn’t help but look inquiringly at Wenren Heng.

Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother and was the first one to turn around and leave. The Sect Master then no longer continued insisting and led his sect members to withdraw through the back of Shuiyun Mountain. After finishing these arrangements, he saw that Wenren Heng wanted to turn back and hastily followed after.

The Sect Master asked, “Going to support Sect Master Ye?” Wenren Heng said, “No, I’m going to add a few slices.” The Sect Master said, “…Huh?”

Wenren Heng laughed and said, “What are you thinking?”

It was also only when he finished asking that the Sect Master became aware that the other was probably referring to adding slices to Manor Lord Wei and them, and he straightened out his thoughts before continuing to follow. Wenren Heng was well acquainted with the other’s temperament and didn’t try any persuasion, simply taking this person along to hurry quickly towards the place that his Junior Brother had set with them and then silently going into hiding.

At this time, Manor Lord Wei and the others just so happened to have found this place.

Ye You’s eyes swept by their figures from afar, and he smiled slightly before throwing a piece of already-lit awakening incense into Wei Jiangrou’s room. Then he quickly turned on the contraptions before leaping out through the back window.

It took a bit of time for Wei Jiangrou to begin slowly waking up.

She was first blank for a moment before then immediately becoming aware of her own situation. She saw that there were even five different contraptions all currently pointed at her, the arrows all slowly rising to take aim at her as the air resounded with

sinister clicks, as if they’d be able to pierce her full of holes in the next moment.

Her face instantly turned deathly pale, and she shouted, “What are all of you doing? Quickly let me go! Where are you, Brother Heng? Save me, I don’t want to die! Save me——! Ah, save me——!”

Manor Lord Wei actually wasn’t certain that his daughter had been taken here, and he had originally come simply with the thought of trying it out at least, but when he discovered with a single look that the entire sect was devoid of people, he immediately knew that he had likely found the right place.

But was it them? They probably wouldn’t take Xiao-Rou and run, right? The elderly man suddenly said, “There are shouts.”

Manor Lord Wei’s expression changed slightly, and right when he was about to ask where it was, he saw the other rush towards a certain direction and thereupon hastily followed after, very quickly arriving at the wooden building. Listening to Xiao-Rou’s cries, he felt a sliver of wrongness flash through his heart extremely quickly.

The Alliance Leader said, “Could it be a trap?”

Manor Lord Wei furrowed his brows. “Yes, let’s be a bit more careful. The people here have all left, so it’s clear that…”

He had spoken only halfway when he saw his daughter’s situation, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

Wei Jiangrou’s face had long already turned blotchy with tears, and at this time, upon seeing him, she shouted out between sobs, “Dad, save me! Hurry and save me!”

The elderly man’s expression turned cold, and he was the first to rush in, but looking at the contraptions, he didn’t dare to move for the time being.

Manor Lord Wei and the Alliance Leader had no other choice and so also entered.

The uneasy wrongness within Manor Lord Wei’s heart grew even stronger. This kind of setup really seemed like it was arrogantly telling them, That’s right, things aren’t quite right, and it’s very likely that there’s a trap, but do all of you dare not to come in?

These contraptions will start up simultaneously, since if just one moves, it’s very possible that the others will also become involved, so a few people will need to take them apart together. Thus, if all of you want to save this person, don’t even think of leaving a single person outside to stand guard.

In his heart, Manor Lord Wei thought, This was completely forcing all of them into the room.

His crisis awareness had risen to its peak, and he said, “Hurry and take them apart and let’s go immediately!” The three people hastily assessed those complex hanging threads, and when they finally realized that these were simply hanging there for fun, they started noticing a certain other scent mixed in with the original sweet smell of the air. The Alliance Leader said, “This is…”

Manor Lord Wei’s expression changed as he said, “It’s gunpowder!”

In the instant that those words were spoken, they all heard an earth- shattering, explosive bang, practically causing both the earth and the mountains to shake.

The wooden building instantly fell into disarray. Immediately following, there came a second explosion from the top of the mountain, and broken rocks began rolling downhill, bringing with them clouds of dust, burying the house with a rumble.

Ye You was standing above, looking down at this scene from up high, feeling the blood boiling throughout his entire body, his fingers even shaking uncontrollably in joy. He jumped down a few steps and quickly heard the sound of a thump; those broken rocks had been struck open by internal energy.

The elderly man rushed out from within, carrying Wei Jiangrou.

His entire body was covered in dirt, and an arrow was stuck into his back, with blood currently seeping out without end. And behind him a few steps was Manor Lord Wei, whose entire body was full of injuries, staggering outside before pausing for a moment and then turning back.

Ye You landed on a rooftop in front of them and clapped his hands, all smiles, saying in praise, “These elders truly have such magnanimous hearts. Even in such a desperate situation, you can throw aside your own safety in order to rescue the beauty. This young one is truly full of admiration.”

The elderly man was extremely furious, and putting aside Wei Jiangrou, he rushed up onto the rooftop.

Ye You dodged his attack and raised a hand to strike. In the blink of an eye, the two had begun fighting. Just now, for the sake of protecting someone, the elderly man had wasted some internal energy, and his back was also injured, so he was in rare difficulty, but he considered all this to be negligible, and he originally thought that he could easily take care of this brat.

However, he quickly realized his error, and that this brat was absolutely not incapable.

He asked, “Brat, what martial arts do you practice?”

Ye You said, “If you kneel and kowtow to me ninety-six times, I could reluctantly tell you.”

The elderly man angrily said, “You’re seeking death!”

By the time Wenren Heng and the Sect Master had rushed over after hearing the sound of explosions, the two had already fought into extremely close quarters. Wenren Heng glanced at the ruins and, upon seeing Manor Lord Wei supporting the Alliance Leader out, immediately went over.

At this moment, although Manor Lord Wei’s situation couldn’t be considered good, his vigilance was still there, and he perceived the other party in practically the same instant that they arrived. At once, he let go of the Alliance Leader to receive the other and, with a complicated look, said, “Xiao-Heng, so it turned out to be you.”

Wenren Heng said, “It’s me.”

He didn’t mince words, and with his next move, he attacked.

Manor Lord Wei promptly restrained his thoughts in order to deal with this.

He was one of the two great experts of Jianghu, so there was no need to speak of his martial arts, but what was unfortunate now was his injuries. Though he wouldn’t have fallen into a disadvantageous position if he was fighting someone else, the person he was facing was, of all people, Wenren Heng. This person’s natural talent was high, and that strength was nothing to look down upon, completely not like those other people even ordinarily, and so the end result of this fight was hard to predict. He said, “Xiao-Heng, what happened to your Master really wasn’t like what you think it was.”

Wenren Heng said, “Then what exactly was it?”

Manor Lord Wei said, “I’ll tell you about it in the future. First let us go.”

Wenren Heng said, “I can’t do that.”

“This child…” Although his heart was furious, Manor Lord Wei still carried a complicated expression on his face, while his moves were still completely unrelenting.

Wenren Heng wasn’t the least bit surprised at this, and he countered every move, not letting up even a step.

The Sect Master looked at Sect Master Ye and then looked at Wenren Heng and finally turned his gaze towards the Alliance Leader. This person was injured even more heavily than Manor Lord Wei and had even lost an arm, blood flowing out in waves, dripping all over the ground.

He considered for a moment before rushing over, preparing to grab this person.

The Alliance Leader still had his consciousness and hastily dodged aside.

At this time, he and Wei Jiangrou were both near the ruins, and he ran right in the direction of Wei Jiangrou.

The Alliance Leader chased after, pulling out his sword in preparation to swing it at the other’s neck, but then he keenly discovered that there seemed to be some urgency over at Manor Lord Wei’s side, which luckily led to Wenren Heng seizing the opportunity to strike. He then silently took a moment to react before immediately understanding the reason and then changing his target to attack Wei Jiangrou.

Wei Jiangrou wasn’t at all injured, and in fear, she cried out in alarm before turning around to run. There was no cover nearby, and the two were especially close, so Wei Jiangrou was frightened to no end, her cries becoming even more ferocious, and she instinctively ran towards the only place she could hide in the surroundings — she ran behind the Alliance Leader’s back, wanting to hide at all costs.

The Alliance Leader’s body swayed, already at its limit. The Sect Master naturally didn’t fear him and once again rushed forward. Seeing him coming closer and closer, Wei Jiangrou couldn’t contain her fear and, with a shriek, pushed out the person in front of her. The latter was caught off guard, and the only thing he felt was a coldness in his chest, as the sword had pierced right through it.

In this instant, not to mention the Alliance Leader and Wei Jiangrou, even the Sect Master himself startled.

He unconsciously loosened his grip and stared foolishly at the Alliance Leader.

The Alliance Leader spat out a mouthful of blood and turned his head back extremely slowly. With his blood-red eyes wide open, he forced out a few words through clenched teeth, “Wei… Jiang… Rou… You…” Before he could even finish speaking, he fell backwards, smashing into the ground, taking his last breath.

Previously, when he saw his daughter in trouble, Manor Lord Wei had done his utmost, regardless of the cost to his injury, to force Wenren Heng to retreat and then quickly hurried over to that side. Who knew that immediately following he’d see this scene, and his footsteps immediately stopped.

Having grown worried to no end from Wei Jiangrou’s cries, the elderly man had stolen over a look in distraction, just so happening to see this entire sequence of events, and he also slightly paused.

But then in a confrontation between experts, even the slightest distraction was disastrous. Before he could even adjust back, he saw this brat’s attack land out of the corner of his eyes. That internal energy was boundless, like a great wave covering the sky, and he was immediately sent flying. At this time, Manor Lord Wei had just regained his senses when, right afterwards, he saw the elderly man smashing into the ground, and his expression immediately changed, lifting his head to look in disbelief. Wenren Heng and the Sect Master also looked at Ye You, and the latter’s heart trembled, internally thinking that, This was

that monster! That monster who struck terror into people’s hearts with just a word! Was Sect Master Ye human?

Ye You jumped down and, within this all-encompassing silence, he lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile. “So the Lantern- Extinguishing Skill is only at this level.”

The elderly man flipped over and jumped up in one move, returning once again to fight him without another word.

Wenren Heng and the Sect Master then acted together, moving against Manor Lord Wei and Wei Jiangrou. Right when they were about to seize these two people, they saw a few black shadows flash by, with one of them stopping this attack.

The Sect Master said, “Who are they?”

“Their people,” Wenren Heng said, needing only an instant to guess the entire course of events.

The four of them were most likely heading towards Huayang City because they had left Wanping Weir too quickly and so there was no one they could use by their side for the time being. Thus, they had wanted to hurry over to reconvene with their own people. And now these people clearly must have received this news through a certain channel and hurried over immediately in order to get here so quickly.

The Sect Master said, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have sent my people away!”

Wenren Heng said, “They should’ve left regardless.”

The Sect Master wanted to ask why, but before he could get the words out, he ended up encountering a black-clothed man and, upon discovering that these people’s skills were very high, immediately understood. Even beating a drowning dog wasn’t something that anyone could do, so those sect members of his not only wouldn’t do but also, if they really came, many of them would definitely die. So it turned out that major sects really were major sects; their confidence was truly on a different level!

Manor Lord Wei saw that his subordinates had come and immediately let out a sigh in relief. He handed Wei Jiangrou over to them and directed a portion of them to attack Wenren Heng and another portion to collect the Alliance Leader’s corpse.

Upon seeing the other this calm and unhurried, Wenren Heng narrowed his eyes.

These black-clothed men’s numbers were limited, but they must have left behind some signs while they were conducting their search for Manor Lord Wei to be this at ease. This group then must be the first wave, and there would be more arriving later.

Not good, they needed to leave.

Wenren Heng made the judgment and pulled the Sect Master to retreat a step.

The elderly man also saw those black-clothed men and so made to move closer to them.

Ye You lifted a brow. “What, want to leave?” The elderly man’s face cooled. “Brat…”

Ye You didn’t wait for him to finish and said, “Then go.”

As he spoke, he ferociously threw out a strike in order to put some distance between them before his figure then immediately flashed, and in the next move, he rushed towards those black-clothed men. Becoming aware of his intentions, the elderly man shouted out, “Run!”

Those black-clothed men startled and lifted their heads to see this person rushing over. Ye You flashed over with intensity, reaching out a hand to grab the sword out of the Alliance Leader’s chest and then, in the next move, slashed down a few strikes. Before the other party could even react, he had already cut them down, making straight for Wei Jiangrou, while also cutting down a few more people on the way, practically killing anyone who got in his way, acting as if even gods wouldn’t be spared!

Wenren Heng followed after, wanting to pull the person back.

Conversely, the Sect Master’s entire mind was blank upon seeing this, and even his hand faintly trembled.

Oh heavens, this person was… t-t-too valiant!

Manor Lord Wei had originally wanted to strike back, but his heart sank at this moment, and he made a prompt decision, “Retreat!”

The elderly man was the only calm one within this group of people.

After all, he was also an expert, so he knew how easy it was to handle these people, and he was even more clear that they were no match for this brat.

He quickly blocked Ye You, matching this person’s force with a palm strike, and taking the opportunity when the other was slowed, he suppressed his boiling inborn energy to flash over to the side of Wei Jiangrou, who had already long been scared silly. He lifted her up and then left.

Wenren Heng had just caught up, and his pupils contracted upon seeing this. He hastily held back Ye You, wanting to ask if he had been poisoned by the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, before then seeing that the corners of the other’s eyes had already turned red. He said, “Ah-You…”

“Don’t stop me!” Ye You pushed him aside, chasing after them in a rush.

The black-clothed men hurriedly split off a portion of people to impede him. Ye You didn’t bother with them, flashing past them one by one, rigidly staring at the Manor Lord Wei who was lagging behind because of those injuries. Waving the sword, he cut down three black-clothed men who were in his way and then rushed forward carrying a reckless killing intent. “Wei Haide!”

Practically at the same time as his approach, Manor Lord Wei internally thought a, Not good, and turned back to dodge at once. In the next moment, Manor Lord Wei saw the silvery-white sword light ferociously flash downwards, and his body swayed, with fresh blood spraying out. For an instant, he didn’t know what had happened, only hearing Wei Jiangrou shouting by his ear, “Dad!”

The surrounding crowd of people simultaneously sucked in a cold breath.

One of the two great experts of Jianghu, Fengxian Manor’s Manor Lord Wei who could shake both heaven and earth, underneath their collective protection, was able to have his arm so easily cut off by someone!

After Ye You finished this move, he finally couldn’t control his messy inborn energy, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Chapter 104

Upon seeing Ye You spit blood, the black-clothed men all had the same thought flash through their head — to take the chance to get rid of the other party. But, immediately following, they saw this person carelessly wipe the corner of his mouth with a thumb, staring at Manor Lord Wei with narrowed eyes, before then continuing to rush forward again. The person’s entire imposing atmosphere hadn’t lessened, and had in fact even rose, both incisive and malevolent.

That entire body brimmed with killing intent, appearing practically mad, almost as if he wanted to slaughter them all.

They were immediately terrified.

After having his arm cut off, Manor Lord Wei was supported away by his subordinates, and at this time, he was already beginning to feel the pain. His entire face was pale, and upon seeing this person once again rushing over, his expression warped for an instant. In a stern voice, he said, “Stop him!”

The black-clothed men didn’t dare to disobey and hastily pulled out a portion of people to intercept him.

Ye You rapidly flashed past their blockade, the sword in his hand slashing out accordingly. Those people turned faintly rigid and then, immediately following, blood began spraying out from their bodies simultaneously; none of them had been able to see his movements at all clearly. The Sect Master was following behind Wenren Heng who was giving chase, and upon seeing the other’s entire body immersed in that blood spray which blotted out the sky, he practically felt shaken to the core.

Those black-clothed men had thoughts that were even darker than the Sect Master’s, feeling that this person’s ability was indeed terrifying, and they quickly became unable to sustain their will to fight. It was precisely at this time that they discovered that there was a group of black shadows rushing over from up ahead, and their spirits immediately shook. The reinforcements had arrived! Ye You paused, holding his sword and coldly looking at them.

Wenren Heng had caught up and held him back with a hand on the shoulder, saying in a low voice, “Ah-You, let’s go.”

Ye You didn’t resist and leapt backwards more than thirty meters262 before then steadying his footing.

At this moment, the reinforcements had already reunited with Manor Lord Wei and them. Manor Lord Wei’s heart was full of hatred, and he originally wanted to murder back in a spurt of energy, but then he heard the elderly man say a word of retreat, and after a moment of hesitation, he could only retreat from Shuiyun Mountain’s territory for now. He covered his injured arm and was just about to ask why they had retreated when he saw the elderly man let go of Wei Jiangrou, figure swaying before holding onto a tree and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

His heart trembled. “You…”

The elderly man stood straight and, in a hoarse voice, said, “Who was that person?”

Manor Lord Wei said, “I don’t know.”

Wei Jiangrou couldn’t help but say, “Isn’t he Ah-Xiao?”

“Ah-Xiao’s martial skill was destroyed. Did you forget?” Manor Lord Wei said, “At that time, the Abbot and them all felt his pulse. He truly didn’t have any internal energy left. Unless…”

The elderly man said, “Unless what?”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Unless a type of medicine was able to conceal that internal energy. Or else they had hidden a person who had exactly the same figure and voice as Ah-Xiao.”

He had lost quite a bit of blood and so had to take a few, slow breaths before he could continue speaking. He simply explained the matter of Ah-Xiao always wearing bandages and said, “His injuries should have healed already, and those bandages must’ve been for the sake of not exposing his true identity. Today, this person was wearing a disguise and also didn’t expose his face, but I think that this one was the true Ah-Xiao.”

The elderly man said, “Why?”

“Because of the killing intent.” As Manor Lord Wei spoke, he thought back to the emotion in the other party’s eyes just now and internally thought that those eyes filled with hatred didn’t seem to be an act at all. He looked at the elderly man. “How are you?”

The elderly man said, “I’m not his opponent.”

Manor Lord Wei said, “It’s because you were injured.”

“No,” the elderly man said, “Even if I wasn’t injured, if we fought long enough, I’d still be the one to lose in the end.”

Manor Lord Wei’s expression thoroughly changed this time, and he practically didn’t dare to believe his own ears.

In his memories, the elderly man’s martial skill was first under the heavens, with no one a match for it, and now the other was saying that Ah-Xiao would come out the victor. Was this a joke? He forced himself to be calm and did his best to think positively. He said, “He received your strike, so he should’ve been poisoned by the Lantern- Extinguishing Poison.”

The elderly man said, “But he was able to use his internal energy to suppress it.”

Manor Lord Wei said, “How long can he suppress it?”

“It’s unclear.” With these words, the elderly man finished this topic of conversation and looked towards Wei Jiangrou. Without much emotion in his voice, he asked, “Why did you push Xiao-Zhong?”

The “Xiao-Zhong” he spoke of was naturally the Alliance Leader. Manor Lord Wei had not yet pulled his thoughts back from wondering whether Ah-Xiao was able to die or not and so was caught off guard from hearing these words, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Wei Jiangrou hastily shook her head. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

The elderly man asked, “You pushed him out, and you’re still saying it wasn’t on purpose?”

Both of Wei Jiangrou’s eyes turned red. “I really didn’t do it on purpose!”

Manor Lord Wei tried to help explain, “She’s never encountered this kind of thing her whole life, so she was probably scared. You really can’t blame her…”

As he spoke, he was no longer able to endure it, and his body slid sideways as he fell.

Wei Jiangrou’s expression paled. Choking with sobs, she called out a ‘dad’ and hastily threw herself over to support him. Looking at his severed arm, she felt her tears stream down, so scared that her whole body began trembling, looking extremely dismal and pitiful.

The elderly man looked at her for a while before turning his gaze away towards the people nearby to say, “First find a place to stop for a time.”

The black-clothed men said, “Understood.”

At this time, Wenren Heng had already pulled his Junior Brother back to the sect and taken off the other’s disguise, grabbing the other’s chin in examination.

The Sect Master curiously stole a look and was immediately astonished. He internally thought, no wonder Sect Master Ye normally wore a mask; so it turned out that his looks were this calamitous.

Because of what just happened, right now, from beginning to end, he didn’t dare to act too impudent in front of Sect Master Ye’s face and said, “Then what… I’ll go find my subordinates and tell them that they can come back.” Wenren Heng said, “Don’t come back for now.” The Sect Master didn’t understand. “What?”

Ye You interrupted by asking, “If you were Wei Haide and have now learned of my true strength, and also know that I’ve been poisoned by the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, what would you do?”

The Sect Master thought for a moment. “I would curse you in the hopes that the poison would spread quickly.”

“That’s your way of thinking, but it’s not Wei Haide’s,” Ye You said, “He would feel that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and would definitely send people to kill me while I’m trying to cure the poison.”

The Sect Master was very shocked. “So they’d still come back? No, no, no, wait, you were poisoned by the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison?!”

Ye You saw that his Senior Brother’s expression wasn’t good and grabbed hold of the other’s hand, saying, “It’s only a little. I can suppress it.”

The Sect Master let out a breath of relief. “Then do we still try and blow them up one more time?”

Wenren Heng held his Junior Brother’s hand back and endured the impulse to pull this person into a ferocious embrace before saying, “They won’t fall for the same trick twice. Me and Ah-You are leaving.”

The Sect Master said, “Ah?”

“Their people are hurrying over here in groups. The more we delay, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us.” Wenren Heng stood up. “Many thanks for the help this time. You should take your people to circle around the back and hide for four to five days before coming back.”

The Sect Master said, “I can’t do that. When my brother is in trouble, how could I simply watch from the sidelines? I want to follow you two.”

Wenren Heng said, “Me and Ah-You are going to Wuyun City. Wei Haide’s been injured to this degree and so probably needs a few days before he can come out again. After you settle your people down, you can come to Wuyun City to find us. You’re the Sect Master, so you need to take responsibility for your sect.”

The Sect Master was persuaded by this reasoning and patted his chest, saying that he’d definitely go.

The group thereupon first walked a distance into the back of the mountains and successfully managed to reconvene with Wenren Heng’s subordinates and Suiyun Sect’s Deputy Sect Master.

Following that, Wenren Heng said a word of farewell to them before then leaving with his Junior Brother and subordinates.

The Sect Master watched them go until they were far away. After a while, he suddenly reacted by slapping his thigh and saying, “Ah, we should’ve let them follow us to circle around and leave from this side, or else they might be chased down! Quick, call those people back!”

The Deputy Sect Master said, “They’re using a carriage, so they’re probably already faraway.”

The Sect Master said, “Then what should we do?”

The Deputy Sect Master said, “Sect Master Wenren and Sect Master Ye are both intelligent people, and they’re also that incredible. I think they have their own plans.”

The Sect Master thought of what just happened and said in praise, “That’s true.”

The Deputy Sect Master didn’t reveal the truth, internally thinking that Wenren Heng was still at least somewhat proper.

After all, once they left, the black-clothed men outside would definitely chase after them and so wouldn’t have the time to be concerned about Suiyun Sect. And if Wenren Heng and them had left through the back mountains, then although it was safe, Suiyun Sect would no longer be able to remain, as those black-clothed men would most likely burn the place down in retaliation for failing in their mission.

He looked his Sect Master up and down and, upon discovering that the other didn’t have any serious injuries, wanted to ask about how everything went. But, at this time, he saw the sect’s elders rush over with a group of sect members, quickly encircling the two of them.

The Sect Master said, “Ah, so all of you woke up?”

Looking at his expression, those elders practically wanted to destroy him, but they endured the impulse to beat him up and hastily asked how things were.

The Sect Master said in excitement, “It went extremely smoothly! I killed the Alliance Leader with one slash!”

The elders, “…”

The Deputy Sect Master, “…”

After a short period of deathly stillness, the group said, “…Huh?”

The Sect Master than spoke in an unceasing torrent about the entire sequence of events, such as how the Alliance Leader died, how Manor Lord Wei had his arm chopped off, how that monster fell for the contraptions and even suffered an injury, cutting an extremely sorry figure when filthy from head to toe from the explosion, and so on and so forth.

He said, “And then afterwards they were so scared that they ran away. That’s right, we don’t need to fix that building, and we also shouldn’t move any of the things inside. Send people to fence it in. This was the first big thing I’d done since I became Sect Master, so you need to let me keep it! And let all the future generations of Suigu Sect see it so as to let them know how incredible this elder is!

Hahahahaha!”

The elders looked at him with a distant gaze before their eyes rolled back, and they fainted. The Sect Master startled. “So it turned out that they haven’t completely recovered from the drug yet. Since they haven’t recovered, why did you bring them out? Quick, lift them up, and let’s go. We need to hurry and retreat outside.”

The Deputy Sect Master, “…” All the sect members, “…”

What haven’t completely recovered from the drug yet! This is all because they were provoked by you, all right!

With the evening already passed, the sky gradually darkened and the temperature also followed suit, dropping by no small amount.

Wenren Heng and the others returned to the small county town that they had stopped by before and bought a few simple things, though they didn’t stop for long and continued hurrying along the way.

Manor Lord Wei was also sent to the small county town and, at this time, was already coming back to consciousness.

With his arm lost, Manor Lord Wei’s entire face was covered with dark clouds, and along with the excessive blood loss, he looked just like an evil spirit.

The head of the black-clothed men cautiously gave him a look and relayed to him the information that they had collected.

Naturally, it wasn’t the elderly man who sent the order for people to watch Suiyun Sect, since that person had always operated alone.

Previously, the fact that he was able to tell them to find a place to stay for a while was already extremely unprecedented.

Manor Lord Wei said, “Where is he?”

The subordinate said, “He bought a coffin and buried the Alliance Leader, and then he locked himself in a room and hasn’t come out.” Manor Lord Wei inwardly drew in a breath, not able to parse what the elderly man had decided, and so could only put the other aside for now. Changing the topic, he asked, “You’re certain it was Wenren Heng and Ah-Xiao?”

The subordinate said, “Certain. They stepped out of the carriage together.”

Manor Lord Wei said, “How did Ah-Xiao look?”

The subordinate said, “He wore a disguise, so there was no way to tell his complexion, but from his bearing, it appears as if he’s completely fine.”

Manor Lord Wei narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself for a while before saying, “That’s not right, there’s definitely something wrong with him, or else why would he leave this urgently, not even stopping to rest a bit.”

The subordinate took a moment to react. “Then, that is to say, he purposely left the carriage for us to see?”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Yes, it was only buying some things, so they could’ve sent someone to do it.”

The subordinate thought that that made sense and asked, “Master’s meaning is?”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Go and give chase!”

The subordinate said a word of ‘understood’, rapidly relaying the order and leaving.

Chapter 105

Wenren Heng’s expression was very bad.

He had long already researched the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison.

If this thing was purely used as a poison, its strength wasn’t too great; it was only a bit troublesome to cure. The Wang Patriarch’s case counted as this type of situation. Conversely, the other situation was being hit with the poison via the Lantern-Extinguishing Skill.

The victim would then have all his organs rot, his death extremely wretched. Although his Junior Brother claimed to be only a little poisoned, it was still the monster who had used the Lantern- Extinguishing Skill, so he couldn’t be at ease no matter what.

The reality was just as he had imagined.

They had not left Suiyun Sect for long when his Junior Brother began weakening. After accompanying him to buy a few things and returning to the carriage, the other slid sideways and fell right into his embrace in the next moment.

His heart sank. “Ah-You.”

Ye You said in a low voice, “I’m taking a nap.”

Wenren Heng pinched his chin. “Don’t sleep, wake up.”

Ye You seemed not to have heard, sinking into unconsciousness right after finishing that sentence, and even up until now, he still hadn’t awoken.

Wenren Heng had held him and immediately instructed his subordinate to hurry towards Shaolin.

The subordinate was extremely anxious, since they weren’t the least bit close to Shaolin, so if they weren’t able to make it in time, it’d be terrible. If Manor Lord Wei once again sent people to kill them, it’d become even more dangerous. After finishing this thought, he struck wildly at the horses, frantically hurrying the carriage forward. The sky had completely darkened, and when the carriage passed by a small village, it was already midnight263.

The entire street was devoid of people; the only things around were lanterns hung up outside of a few stores, faintly swaying in the cold winter wind.

The subordinate didn’t hear the Sect Master’s order to stay overnight and so continued hurrying onward. At this time, a flurry of hoofbeats suddenly echoed through the air, seemingly striking directly at people’s hearts. His expression unknowingly changed at once.

Wenren Heng naturally was also able to hear this, and his gaze moved slightly away from his Junior Brother.

The subordinate waited and still didn’t hear any kind of order. After a moment of hesitation, he asked if they should first hide a bit to see who was coming before doing anything else. After all, the road before them was an official one, with the horizon wide open. If those truly were people sent by Manor Lord Wei, they definitely wouldn’t be able to run away.

Wenren Heng said concisely, “There’s no place to hide. Steal their horses.”

Sure enough, in the time these two were talking, the people behind had caught up.

What was even worse was that it truly was a group of black-clothed men.

The two parties didn’t mince words, and the moment they were face- to-face, they exchanged blows. Upon seeing that his Junior Brother still hadn’t awoken, he didn’t dare to leave the person behind in the carriage. Anyway, since the other party was able to catch up, they had definitely already considered the possibility of his Junior Brother’s poison spreading, and it’d be useless for him to try to trick them. So he decided simply to carry the person off the carriage.

Those black-clothed men saw that that young sir had already lost consciousness, and their faces turned joyful as they hastily moved to attack Wenren Heng.

Holding his Junior Brother with one hand and carrying a sword that he borrowed from Suiyun Sect in another, Wenren Heng rapidly blocked the incoming attacks in quick succession before then leaping backwards to pull a distance away, sweeping his eyes over their horses.

The black-clothed men didn’t give him an opportunity to catch his breath and once again surrounded him, wanting to take care of this person quickly.

The clashing of blades and the cries of murderous intent resounded through the dark night, and the the common people on both sides of the street were startled awake. Some bolstered their courage to open a slit in their windows to look outside before then immediately huddling back in fright.

In total, the black-clothed men had twenty people come, each and every one well-trained.

They had no need for discussion and, with one look, were able to make their judgments. They separated out half of them to do battle with Wenren Heng and his subordinate so as to prevent these two people from escaping. The remaining half conversely took the opportunity to circle around the back, and with only their colleagues’ controlled breathing, they were then able to encircle these people.

The subordinate’s heart thumped, and he asked, “What do we do?” Wenren Heng said, “Rush them.”

The moment these words were said, almost simultaneously, the two people tried forcing their way out of the blockade towards the direction of the horses. However, the black-clothed men’s strength was great, their numbers overwhelming, and no matter how high Wenren Heng’s martial arts was, now that he was carrying his Junior Brother, he wasn’t able to exert his full strength, only just barely managing to protect the person. The Head of the black-clothed men observed for a while, and in the interval when Wenren Heng had just cut down one of them and was able to leap away, he finally found an opportunity. Like lightning, his figure flashed over directly in front of them, and the sword in his hand made straight for Ye You.

Wenren Heng’s pupils darkened slightly, and he turned around to dodge at once. In the next moment, the tip of the sword scraped across his arm, and fresh blood immediately sprayed out. He didn’t even take a moment to frown and instead, with a turn of the wrist, launched a harsh counterattack with his sword.

The Head promptly dodged. His trusted subordinate had already long hidden behind him, and at this moment, the person jumped out, immediately matching the other’s attack, while the Head once again making straight for Ye You. Needing only an instant to judge, Wenren Heng knew that he wouldn’t be able to dodge and, without even needing to think, used his body to protect his Junior Brother.

The dense killing intent mixed with the sword energy swept over, and Wenren Heng tightened his arm. Right when he was about to meet this attack head-on, he saw the person in his embrace suddenly open those eyes.

Practically on instinct, Ye You reached out a hand to grab onto the other party’s sword before then immediately straightening and sending out a palm strike.

That person was caught off guard and was hit dead-center with that untempered inborn energy. With a bang, he was sent flying, smashing into the ground, taking his last breath right then and there.

The scene instantly fell into a deathly stillness.

The black-clothed men’s movements immediately turned sluggish, and they collectively leapt five steps back, vigilantly looking at this person. Some of them had experienced what had happened during the day, while others had heard about what happened from their colleagues’ mouths, which did not lessen their knowledge of how incredible this person was. Wenren Heng didn’t let go. “Ah-You.”

Ye You wanted to pat the other’s arm so that this person would let him go, but then he smelled the scent of blood and hastily looked at the still-bleeding injury. His expression darkened. “Who did this?”

Wenren Heng didn’t reply and examined this person from up close. He wanted to know how his Junior Brother was doing, but he understood that now wasn’t a good time, so the only thing he could do was take a look like this. With tacit understanding in his heart, Ye You met the other’s gaze before then struggling free and moving towards the black-clothed men in front of them. “Ah, it’s really lively. That surnamed Wei had all of you come?”

The Head’s heart was suspended in his throat, and he tried his best to see any issues from the other’s face, but this person had on a disguise, and he was completely unable to see through it.

Ye You lazily walked forward a step and, seeing them still hesitating, he asked, “Did that surnamed Wei die?”

The Head still didn’t reply and was struggling in his heart over whether he should make the gamble. After all, this person truly had been unconscious just now, and if the other actually was just bluffing, then they would be the winners.

Ye You’s situation truly was a bit terrible.

He was still very tired, and the only reason he had been able to awaken just now was entirely due to perceiving that killing intent. But after he finished that one strike, he then realized that his internal energy wasn’t in a good state. If they truly started fighting, then although he wouldn’t absolutely be throwing his life away, it’d still definitely be a disaster.

But he didn’t let it show on his face and held out a hand behind his back.

Wenren Heng understood and handed the sword over to him. Upon seeing this, those black-clothed men abruptly thought of that scene during the day, where this person had madly slaughtered everyone in his way, and their expressions all turned rigid, with even cold sweat beginning to pour down some of their faces.

Ye You flicked off the blood on the blade. “If you aren’t going to talk, then just die.”

When he finished speaking, he once again moved forward a step, and the black-clothed men once again retreated, fearfully looking at him and then collectively turning to look at the Head beseechingly. The latter bit his lips and was just about to attempt it when, at this time, a piercing sound echoed through the air, and a great number of figures seemingly dropped down from the sky, making straight for them.

Whose people are these?

This question flashed through everyone’s minds simultaneously. Seeing these people head towards him with killing intent, the Head then understood that they were on Wenren Heng’s side, once again looking at the seemingly fine Sir Xiao, before then immediately taking his subordinates to retreat.

Wenren Heng hastily walked to his Junior Brother’s side to support the other.

Ye You leaned his entire body against Wenren Heng and raised his head, while doing his utmost to suppress his sleepiness, Very quickly, the crowd slowly made way and two familiar people walked over from that side; these people actually turned out to be the Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge who hadn’t been seen in a long time.

When the Wang Patriarch passed away, these two people had returned to Suzhou to take care of the funeral arrangements.

At the time, the Wang family head had said that he’d definitely return, but there was no telling what he had actually gone to do, seeing as he was only now showing his face after all this time, but regardless, they probably shouldn’t have encountered any dangers.

Ye You’s expression relaxed, and he fell over. Wenren Heng used a hand to hold him. “Ah-You.” “…I’m fine,” Ye You said, “Let me sleep for a bit.”

Wenren Heng saw him once again lose consciousness and was worried to no end.

The Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge hurriedly ran over. “What happened to him? This is Sir Xiao, right?”

Wenren Heng said a, “Yes,” and moved to carry the person in his arms. “Why are the two of you here?”

“We were planning on going to Wuyun City.” The Wang family head explained everything very briefly.

He knew that this chessboard was very large, and since their Wang family had already left Jianghu for this many years, although their family still had guards, their skills were still a far cry from those in the Jianghu sects. Thus, after he had taken care of his father’s funeral, he had run over to the assassin’s guild264, threw down some

money, and hired some people.

Wenren Heng glanced at the people behind him and nodded his head in clear understanding.

The Wang family head said, “At first, some of them weren’t actually present, so I had to wait for a number of days before finally coming over.”

Of course, this was simply an excuse. The truth was that he felt that this chessboard was too full of lies and tricks, and he didn’t want to be treated as a chess piece, so he had waited until a conclusion seemed just about to be made before finally deciding to come out.

This conclusion was that the Alliance Leader’s house had been burned down.

He had originally thought that the Alliance Leader was the white piece and so had rushed over with a chest full of anger in order to take revenge for his father. But then recently he had heard about the matter with that monster and Manor Lord Wei, and when he connected it to the fact that his father had been given the Lantern- Extinguishing Poison, his heart became even more filled with fury, so he had hurried even more on his way. Today, he had just reached this small village.

He said, “Me and Xiao-Ge are living in an inn nearby. When our subordinates heard the noise, we then hurried over to take a look. What happened to Sir Xiao?”

Wenren Heng said, “He’s been poisoned by the Lantern- Extinguishing Poison.”

The Wang family head bitterly hated this poison, and his expression turned cold at once. “Who did it?”

Wenren Heng said, “That’s a long story.”

Seeing that his arm was currently bleeding and that his subordinates had also suffered injuries, he hastily brought them back to the inn.

He also took the time to take a look at Sir Xiao and, upon remembering the scene that they had happened upon just now, internally thought that even with no martial arts, this person still dared to take a sword and face the other party, and even scared

them so badly that they didn’t dare to come forward; Sir Xiao is truly incredible.

Junior Academy Master Ge also had the same thought, following alongside them with admiration.

Of course, if they had seen a certain person kill someone with one strike, then they wouldn’t be thinking like this.

Ye You slept until late in the morning the next day before he finally slowly awoke.

Wenren Heng had stayed by the other’s side the entire time. He had been able to stay still only because of those words, “I’m fine,” from his Junior Brother, but those words would’ve lasted him only until noon. If this person still hadn’t woken up by noon, he would’ve returned to hurrying towards Shaolin. At this moment, upon seeing this person finally opening those eyes, he immediately grabbed hold of his Junior Brother’s hand. “How are you?”

“All right.” Ye You sat up and looked around, guessing that they were probably in an inn.

He thought back to what happened last night and looked at his Senior Brother. “Your arm…”

“A small injury.” Wenren Heng sat down on the side of the bed and pulled the person into an embrace, pinching his chin. “Really all right?”

Ye You said, “Yes. Did you forget that when we left Shaolin last time, I had Miracle Doctor Ji give me a pill that dispelled poisons?”

Wenren Heng said, “Is it effective even against the Lantern- Extinguishing Poison?”

Ye You said, “It’s unclear, but I feel better today than I did yesterday.”

Wenren Heng could also see that his Junior Brother seemed to have more energy than yesterday, but he also couldn’t feel entirely at ease and asked, “Should we go to Shaolin, or should we send a letter to Shaolin and have Miracle Doctor Ji and them come over?”

Ye You said, “Let’s wait two more days before talking about this. I’m hungry.”

Wenren Heng gave him a look and didn’t continue insisting, going outside to instruct the waiter to make some food.

The Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge both hadn’t left, and at this time, when they heard that Sir Xiao had awoken, they came to take a look. Immediately following, upon seeing that he had gotten rid of the disguise on his face, they both startled, simultaneously agreeing in their hearts that, No wonder Wenren

Heng had always kept his entire face covered in bandages before! Ye You gave them a word of greeting and said, “We’ve troubled the Wang family head for help this time.”

“It was just a simple matter.” The Wang family head walked over and sat down. Seeing that his situation didn’t seem to be too bad, the person asked, “Who was it that wanted to kill you yesterday?”

Ye You said, “Wei Haide.”

The two’s expression changed slightly.

The Wang family head sucked in a deep breath and asked in a heavy voice, “So the white piece is him?”

Ye You sidestepped the question and instead stood up, walking over and sitting at their table. He said honestly, “Wang family head, I’m actually the black piece.”

Wenren Heng said, “Me as well.” The Wang family head startled.

If he said that he wasn’t the least bit resentful of the black piece, then that’d be a lie. If it wasn’t for the black piece’s chessboard, then his father also wouldn’t have become involved in these matters. But, rationally, he knew that they also truly weren’t to blame, since after all, it was the white piece who used the poison.

He closed his eyes, suppressing the myriad thoughts in his mind, before once again asking, “Wei Haide really is the white piece?”

Ye You was silent for an instant before taking three teacups from the table and placing them neatly one by one. “Fengxian Manor, Lingjian Pavilion, and the Alliance Leader’s faction. Over these years, they’ve always been mutually balancing each other out.”

The Wang family head said, “I know.”

Ye You said, “Wang family head, when one family alone gets big, sooner or later, it becomes a target for the masses.” “I also know this…” As the Wang family head spoke, his gaze strayed to those three teacups. Suddenly, he sensed an extremely terrifying possibility from those words, and he practically wasn’t able to sit still and stood up. “Don’t tell me that…”

“That’s right.” Ye You looked at him, his gaze passing over to the Academy Master Ge who was still at-a-loss, completely unaware of the situation, and said, “The Alliance Leader and Manor Lord Wei are both involved with that monster. Everyone already knows about this. But think about it, in this many years of equilibrium, if the Alliance Leader and Manor Lord Wei were working together, why haven’t they made a move against Pavilion Master Ding?”

The Wang family head tried to justify it with a hoarse voice, “This might be because they don’t want to do anything big…”

“Then they completely could’ve caused Pavilion Master Ding’s collapse and then push the Alliance Leader into the position that Pavilion Master Ding is in right now. This would be even more reliable, and also more advantageous. Why didn’t they make a move?” Ye You said, “Wang family head, think back for a moment. When did Fengxian Manor and Lingjian Pavilion begin to grow big? It was when that monster was killed twenty years ago.”

The Wang family head opened and closed his mouth, unable to say a single word.

“At that time, although those two sects could be counted among the top ten, none of these top sects were considered greater or less than the others. When those three influential families were massacred, Manor Lord Wei rescued one person from the Yang family and thus rose to fame. He thereby took the opportunity to set the ‘Demon Slaughter order’ and then joined hands with Pavilion Master Ding to slaughter that monster. This matter thus pushed them to the top,” Ye You said, “How exactly did they reach the positions they are in today? It’s because, over these twenty years, there were a stream of tragedies, from monsters to qi deviating swordsmen, and they were always the ones to resolve them in the end, isn’t that right?” The Wang family head’s expression turned grave, and he still was unable to say a single word.

Junior Academy Master Ge conversely began slowly going through his memories, his expression turning paler and paler.

Wenren Heng stood at the side, speechless, not speaking a word.

He had already long guessed this matter while they were at Shaolin, and he also understood why his Junior Brother hadn’t depended on their Martial Uncle at the time. Because although Martial Uncle was a general, with the power of Fengxian Manor, Lingjian Pavilion, and the Alliance Leader, one wave of the hand could unite the entire righteous faction against a common enemy, and at that time, even the emperor himself would need to be cautious. So his Junior Brother had chosen to carry this blood-soaked revenge alone and left by himself.

The Wang family head barely managed to retain his rationality and said with difficulty, “So this balance…”

Ye You softly made a sound in agreement and said, “These so-called twenty-years of balance was simply something they intentionally created themselves.”

The author has something to say:

When one family alone gets big, it becomes a target for the masses — see chapter 10~ 

Chapter 106

The Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge were completely stupefied.

The former poured a cup of tea for himself and silently guzzled it down. With trembling fingers, the latter also grabbed hold of the teapot and poured himself a cup. While lifting it up to drink, he finally couldn’t endure it, putting it down with a bang and asking in a taut voice, “Is… is there evidence?”

Ye You said, “No.”

These two people felt as if an enormous mountain had landed on them, making them practically unable to catch a breath, and right as they were feeling that this was insurmountable, another enormous mountain from the side arrived, smashing straight into this mountain with a crash, startling them to the point that they were about to go into shock.

The two almost vomited up a mouthful of blood as they repeated, “No?”

Then how are the two of you so sure that there’s a problem with Pavilion Master Ding?

Ye You was able to guess their thoughts and laughed before standing up to wash his face without so much as a by-your-leave. After a time, he returned and sat down. Seeing that these two were still in the same positions, he said, “Whether it’s true or not, you two have already made the decision in your heart, isn’t that right?”

The Wang family head was about to say something on reflex when he heard a few knocks sounding from the door. Immediately, like a startled cat, he swiftly swiveled his head to look. When Wenren Heng went over to open the door, he discovered that it was the waiter and let the person inside.

Ye You had long been hungry, so when the waiter placed down the dishes and left, he grabbed a spoon and began unhurriedly drinking porridge. You’re actually still able to eat in this kind of situation?

Junior Academy Master Ge stared, wide-eyed, feeling urgently unwell.

He only had to think about how, over these years, the entirety of Jianghu had been kept in the dark, and that even those massacres and qi deviating swordsmen were all intentionally plotted by Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding, to feel his entire body chilled to the bone.

The Wang family head conversely more or less understood why they were able to be so calm. After all, this chessboard had been prepared for too long, and Wenren Heng and them had also already carried these secrets for too long, so much so that they’d definitely already long gotten over their own shock.

He thought for a moment before asking, “That year, there was another motive behind what happened to Elder Yu?”

Wenren Heng said, “Yes, the swordsman who killed my Master was drugged.”

He paused and, without waiting for the Wang family head to ask for specific details, gave a simple account of how the swordsman had left behind a slip of paper, telling them that Manor Lord Wei was the owner of that secret villa they discovered previously.

The Wang family head said, “Pavilion Master Ding wasn’t written on there?”

“No,” Ye You slowly swallowed the food in his mouth and interrupted with, “but I’m a child of the Yang family.”

The Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge practically felt as if they had walked into a fantasy and said in astonishment, “What?”

Ye You knew that they had heard him and so continued speaking, “Before my dad sent me away, he told me that the people who massacred those influential families were that monster and that Wei and Ding duo. That year, my family was the last, and our turn came right on the second day after the news of the two families’ massacres had reached us. I’m not clear on where my dad managed to get this information in such a short amount of time, and moreover, I don’t have evidence, but after all these years of observation, all sorts of signs clearly point to those two being partners.”

The Wang family head absolutely never imagined that Sir Xiao had another layer to his identity and said, thinking back, “So you mean that the Sir Yang right now is your younger brother? I remember that, when that happened to the Yang family that year, the family head’s eldest son didn’t happen to be around, and there was only one younger son. Not many days later, it came out that the older son had also been killed. That was false information?”

Ye You shook his head. “I’m precisely the younger son of the Yang family. Right now, this Sir Yang is the son of my family’s steward. If that hadn’t happened, he would have already become my boy attendant265.”

The Wang family head didn’t understand. “Then how did he take the name of the Yang family’s child?”

Ye You said, “You two didn’t come with us to Shaolin, so you don’t know that Miracle Doctor Ji and them discovered a personal letter from the white piece’s miracle doctor. On it was written that, if they fed the drug to a small child and took the opportunity to instill in him another background, then they could confuse his memories. And as time passes, he would then come to believe that he truly was that person.”

The Wang family head inwardly drew in a breath. “Manor Lord Wei used the drug on him? They weren’t afraid that the drug would suddenly lose its efficacy one day?”

“Once he got on the tiger, it became difficult to get off266. Or else do you really believe that Wei Haide would be willing to save someone?” Ye You looked at him. “Even if he hadn’t managed to save anyone that year, he would’ve still found another excuse to issue the ‘Demon Slaughter order’. Saving the person was only an opportunity, because when they rushed over, they just so happened to dig out my boy attendant from that pile of corpses and discovered that he had just suffered some light injuries. With that many righteous faction members present, Wei Haide couldn’t possibly get rid of him and so could only take the person home. What’s more, my dad’s friends were many, and those people would definitely pay some attention, so Wei Haide wouldn’t dare to kill him.”

Junior Academy Master Ge couldn’t help but interrupt, “How do you know about these things?”

“I found out through later investigations,” Ye You said in a light voice, “I even know that he was wearing my clothes at the time. I’m guessing that the steward was probably planning to have him die in my place, so perhaps when he woke up, he also told Wei Haide that he was the son of the Yang family. But regardless of whether he actually said that or not, Wei Haide and them were all afraid that he had seen their faces that night, and so they drugged him.”

The Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge fell silent.

Due to an unexpected turn of events, Sir Yang hadn’t died and instead had been raised by Manor Lord Wei until he was an adult before the other was willing to let him go. And for the sake of a good name, Manor Lord Wei even went as far as to help him reestablish the Yang family. But although it looked good, there most likely weren’t any truly loyal servants within that Yang family, as all of them were sent by Manor Lord Wei to keep an eye on him.

Hey, wait… The Wang family head asked, “The whole matter with feeding children the drug was something that Miracle Doctor Ji and them found out only after reading that personal letter, but listening to you, it seems like you knew about this already?”

Ye You said, “Yes, I have a friend who was one of those who had fallen prey to the drug. During an unexpected incident, he was able to undo the drug’s efficacy, and so I also learned about it. Thus, after I finished investigating the matters of the Yang family, it became clear to me that my boy attendant had also been fed the drug.”

The Wang family head understood. “So it’s like that.” Ye You said, “Do you still have anything else to ask?”

Those two didn’t open their mouths, feeling as if they needed to catch their breaths.

Ye You looked at them and then lowered his head to eat. The Wang family head, “…”

Junior Academy Master Ge, “…”

Still eating? Your heart is truly large! Were the things we talked about just now something that happened to another person’s family, hey!

But Wenren Heng knew that when his Junior Brother had first managed to find out about this entire matter’s sequence of events, and learned that Wei Haide had used the Yang family as a glorious achievement for the sake of adding prestige, the other definitely hadn’t been calm like this. Even now, he was still wondering about what his Junior Brother’s mood had been when the other had just returned to the Central Plains and went alone to the outskirts of Huayang City, turning over that valley but unable to find a trace of Father Yang’s bones. Where exactly had he been at that time?

Over these years, while his Junior Brother had faced many, many shocking and ghastly hardships alone, where had he been?

He truly regretted that he hadn’t been a bit more unyielding back then so that he could’ve always stayed at his Junior Brother’s side, passing by all those hard-to-bear days and nights together.

Ye You perceived his gaze and gave him a look.

Wenren Heng regained his senses and helped the other pour more tea, squeezing the other’s hand a bit in passing. In his heart, he thought that I already can’t make up for the past, but at least in the future, I can always stay with him.

The Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge were still stuck on the enormous force that was the reality that “Manor Lord Wei, Pavilion Master Ding, and the Alliance Leader are all partners” and, from the start, hadn’t noticed the ambiguous atmosphere in front of them.

The Wang family head forced himself to calm, and recalling the matters over the past twenty years, he said, “I remember that the relationship between Fengxian Manor and Lingjian Pavilion turned harsh because Manor Lord Wei’s older sister passed away not even two years after marrying Pavilion Master Ding’s oldest brother, and later, Pavilion Master Ding’s oldest brother also quickly followed.

But even now, the people aren’t clear what the precise reason was that led to these two families falling out. If this rift was an act, then none of this had anything to do with it from the beginning?”

Ye You originally wanted to speak, but upon glimpsing his Senior Brother handing over a steamed roll267, he then obediently returned to eating, leaving the answering to his Senior Brother.

Wenren Heng said, “Did you two know that the day that the monster appeared, other than Manor Lord Wei, there was another person who also left?”

The Wang family head asked, “Who?”

Wenren Heng said, “Wei Jiangrou. She was taken away by the monster.”

The Wang family head was somewhat confused. “How is she related to this?”

Wenren Heng said, “She’s distantly related. Me and Ah-Xiao had never been clear on how Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding could make that monster happily throw his life away for them. It was only until this happened that we managed to guess a possibility.”

Junior Academy Master Ge’s brain had already turned to mush, and he foolishly looked at them, waiting for their next words.

Although the Wang family head was startled, he still straightened out his thoughts, sorted through Wei Jiangrou’s age, and said, “Wei Jiangrou isn’t even twenty yet, so she’s definitely not the daughter of Manor Lord Wei’s older sister. She should be Manor Lord Wei’s actual blood daughter. Why did the monster take her away?”

Wenren Heng said, “That monster treats her very well.”

The Wang family head took a moment to react, but he quickly understood. “Could it be that Wei Jiangrou looks like her aunt? And previously, that monster helping those two families was also due to Manor Lord Wei’s older sister?”

Wenren Heng said, “Most likely, but as for how exactly she died, we still don’t know. We can only guess that, before she died, she had perhaps said to the monster that she hoped he would take care of these two family members of hers, and the monster agreed. Thus, that Wei and Ding duo used this method to get to the top.”

The Wang family head was speechless.

Actually, even if Sir Xiao hadn’t mentioned the matter of the Yang family, just the matter of Manor Lord Wei and the Alliance Leader not making a move against Pavilion Master Ding over all these years would’ve already made people suspicious. Now that he’d finished hearing Wenren Heng talk about the matter with the monster, he felt even more that Wei and Ding were both partners. After all, with that monster’s feelings towards Manor Lord Wei’s older sister this ambiguous, if the Wei family and the Ding family really did fall out because of the person’s older sister, there was no need for Manor Lord Wei and the Alliance Leader to make a move, that monster alone would be able to take care of Pavilion Master Ding. Why would there be a need to raise drugged men and make a vast conspiracy?

He steadied his spirits and returned to the current matter, asking, “Why didn’t you two go to Wuyun City?”

Wenren Heng said, “I accompanied Ah-Xiao for a trip to Huayang City and met them upon returning…”

He gave a simple explanation of the sequence of events.

Upon hearing that the two had kidnapped Wei Jiangrou and then used her to set a trap for the monster and the others by burying the group with gunpowder, the Wang family head and Junior Academy Master Ge were both immediately shocked. And when they heard that the Alliance Leader’s death had been caused by Wei Jiangrou, they both made a sound in exclamation. And then, upon hearing that Sir Xiao had been hit by a strike from the monster but still endured the pain in order to cut off one of Manor Lord Wei’s arms in one go, they fell silent for a moment before saying simultaneously, “You must be joking, right——?!”

Ye You didn’t even lift his head when he said, “No, I still have my martial arts. When we reach Wuyun City, remember to help me keep this a secret.”

The Wang family head, “…” Junior Academy Master Ge, “…”

The two unconsciously thought of the scene from last night, and internally thought well, it’s also not impossible.

So, right now, that monster was injured, the Alliance Leader was dead, and Manor Lord Wei had truly lost an arm? They looked at the two people in front of them and internally thought that just by

barely grabbing onto an opportunity, these two were able to entrap people to this degree; these two disciple-brothers were truly

terrifying!

“Wait.” The Wang family head suddenly realized and gravely looked at Sir Xiao. “The Lantern-Extinguishing Poison in your body was received from being hit by that monster’s Lantern-Extinguishing Skill?”

Ye You said, “Yes.”

The Wang family head said, “Wasn’t it said that one would quickly die, not even able to stay alive for a quarter of an hour?”

Ye You said, “At the last moment, I ate some medicine that dispelled poison made by Miracle Doctor Ji. Perhaps it was of some use.”

The Wang family head said, “Can it dispel all the poison?” Ye You said, “It’s still unclear.”

The Wang family head said, “You don’t need to get Miracle Doctor Ji to examine you?”

Ye You said, “Let’s first wait and see. At this juncture, I can’t leave for too long.”

The Wang family head also knew that now was a crucial moment and so found it difficult to say anything in response.

He thus nodded and waited for Sir Xiao to finish eating before then leaving the inn together with them to hurry along to Wuyun City.

On the road, the black-clothed men appeared once more, but with the assassins that the Wang family head hired, none of them were able to take advantage and all retreated with their tails between their legs.

Meanwhile, Ye You was awake for half a day before once again falling unconscious.

This time, he slept for two hours, and he then maintained consciousness for a while before once again falling asleep. He thus woke and slept intermittently like this for three days before finally returning to normal, allowing all the people who had been holding back their cold sweat to let out a sigh of relief.

Wenren Heng sat in the carriage and assessed his Junior Brother. “You’re really all right?”

Ye You said, “I don’t really feel it anymore.”

Wenren Heng carefully gave him a few more looks and felt his pulse, finding it strong and robust, before more or less feeling a bit more at ease. “And we don’t know if it was the medicine that was useful or if it had something to do with the martial arts you’re practicing.”

“I think it has to do with my martial arts. After all, it’s the greatest martial arts book in Jianghu.” Ye You raised a brow and asked, “Want to learn it? I can write what I know from memory for you. Don’t worry, Senior Brother, when you lose your memories, even if you cry your lungs out, I’ll still forcibly tie you up and hit your death acupoint. I wouldn’t take the time while you’ve lost your memories to play around with you.”

Wenren Heng couldn’t help but recall his Junior Brother’s appearance back when the other had just lost those memories. He laughed. “You were quite cute at the time.”

Ye You said, “So you think that I’m not cute right now?”

Wenren Heng pulled the person into his arms, roguishly teasing him, before then leaning against the person’s ear to say in a low voice, “Mhm, right now you’re enticing.

Ye You’s ear itched, and he couldn’t help but duck out of the way.

Wenren Heng pulled back his chin. “You seem to be in quite a good mood these past two days?”

Ye You left a kiss on his lips and dodged out of the way when he was about to kiss back, saying with a smile, “With his many years of training, his internal energy really is higher than mine, but even those heights have limits. And my lightness skill is faster than his, so I can delay him for many moves. Senior Brother, you must know that he’s getting on in age, and in the end, he’s no match for a young person like me.”

Wenren Heng understood. “So the one to win in the end would be you.”

Ye You nodded. “Right now, I’m just worried that Cong Yun hasn’t died, or that Wei Haide has drugs in his hands.”

That truly would be terrible, Wenren Heng thought.

That monster’s strength was originally frightening, so if he then ate some drugs that increased his internal energy, how could they possibly fight him?

Ye You thought for only a short while before he stopped concerning himself with it. He pulled out the bandages and handed them over to his Senior Brother, indicating for the other to help him put it on. Wenren Heng understood.

Now that Wei Haide already knew that his Junior Brother retained those martial arts and had been poisoned by the Lantern- Extinguishing Poison, the other would definitely send this information to Pavilion Master Ding. And at this time, if his Junior Brother appeared with his face full of bandages, not only looking unaffected by the Lantern Extinguishing Poison but also still walking with untroubled steps, with this kind of truth mixed in with lies, Pavilion Master Ding also wouldn’t know if this was the same person or not.

The group hurried on the road for a few days before finally reaching Wuyun City on a certain evening.

The elders had all already begun living at the Sheng family residence, and the Sheng Patriarch and family head had both already learned that the monster was not yet dead, instantly turning from bystanders to participants without another word. After all, the Hua family that was massacred twenty years ago had a blood relationship with them, so they naturally couldn’t simply sit on the sidelines.

The Sheng family head had heard that Wenren Heng and Sir Xiao were coming only after a few days and so had prepared them a room in advance. At this time, upon seeing that there were two more people, he invited the people inside on one hand and, on the other, gave his steward a meaningful look, indicating for the person to go prepare quickly.

At this time, those elders had also come out to welcome them.

Academy Master Ge exchanged a few words of greeting with the Wang family head and, upon seeing that his son seemed somewhat quiet, then turned to look at him.

Junior Academy Master Ge silently ruminated, deciding to wait until the dead of the night before telling his old man about certain important information, hoping that his old man could withstand the shock. Academy Master Ge looked at his son’s expression, not understanding it in the least, and not feeling like inquiring over it, he turned to Sir Xiao. “How’s your health?”

“Much better,” Ye You said, as he walked and talked with the other, very quickly reaching the anteroom.

He was just about to ask if anything had happened recently when he saw a family servant running in to tell them that there was a person outside claiming to be Wei Jiangyue who wanted to see Sir Xiao and Sect Master Wenren.

Those elders immediately startled. “What?”

The Sheng family head quickly reacted and said, “Quickly let him in.”

The family servant said a word of ‘understood’ before turning around and running off.

Everyone stood in the anteroom, unmoving, collectively looking outside.

They waited for a time and, sure enough, saw one person walking in from the outside; it truly was Wei Jiangyue. But his situation didn’t appear to be very good. Although he still had the same appearance as before, his eyes were completely bloodshot, with even black bags visible underneath, looking as if he hadn’t slept for many days.

Pavilion Master Ding was the first to speak, asking indifferently, “Who kidnapped you? Where were you these past few days?”

“I took a trip home,” Wei Jiangyue said in a hoarse voice. He moved his gaze to Sir Xiao and walked over with slow steps, finally stopping when he was only three steps away.

Ye You said, “What?”

Wei Jiangyue closed his eyes, and then under everyone’s countless staring eyes, he pulled up the hem of his clothes and directly kneeled down in front of the other.

“Bam.” A muffled sound resounded.

Chapter 107

The anteroom instantly turned deathly still.

Ding Xilai and that crowd of Junior Sect Masters stared in wide-eyed disbelief. None of them could’ve ever imagined that the always outstanding and arrogant Second Young Master Wei would actually ever kneel down for someone. Of the elders, some had already guessed a few things, while others still hadn’t understood, simply looking on in astonishment. And then, after a moment of foolish staring, they all collectively looked at Sir Xiao, waiting for him to speak.

Ye You said, “You investigated.”

This tone was completely calm, without even the least bit of doubt.

Wei Jiangyue’s taut back seemed like it was practically about to freeze stiff, and he fell silent for a moment before saying, in a low voice, with much difficulty, “That’s right, those things… truly were done by my father.”

Like a small pebble bringing with it large waves, everyone’s expressions all changed.

Although Manor Lord Wei had left with that monster, they had not a single bit of evidence in their hands, and some even still believed that there was some other motive. Now, upon hearing these words, they all couldn’t sit still.

“Does Young Wei268 have evidence for these words?”

“Young Wei just said that, for the past several days, he hadn’t been kidnapped and had actually returned home. But what exactly did he find out?”

“Young Wei?”

Even while listening to the unceasing questions all around, Wei Jiangyue remained expressionless. He had not been passing his days very well recently.

The father whom he had wholly respected, the Fengxian Manor that he was proud of, had actually turned out to have relied on such a filthy method to receive their positions and reputations. This had practically toppled his entire worldview that had been built up over these twenty years. How much steadfast fortitude he had before was precisely how much painful suffering he was feeling now.

However, no matter how evil his father was, that person was still his father.

Blood couldn’t be repudiated, and he had even less of an idea on how to repudiate it, as right now, he wouldn’t even be able to draw his blade against his dad at all.

These past few days, his rationality and his emotions had been continuously tearing into him, practically about to rip him in two.

Whenever he felt he was about to go mad with pain in the dead of the night, his only thought was his desire to see this person. But then he quickly remembered, he really had no right to meet the other, because the things his father had done had dug a deep, deep gorge between them, unable to be crossed.

But, in the end, the entire truth of these matters should be revealed. So he had still returned.

He again closed his eyes for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice, “I went home and investigated something.”

The surroundings immediately stilled.

Everyone saw him falling silent once again and knew that this matter was difficult for him to talk about and so didn’t rush him, simply waiting patiently.

After several breaths, they heard him say that he had turned over Manor Lord Wei’s study and then looked into the matter of Blood- sucking Ghost murdering his little brother that year. As a result, he had discovered that his little brother hadn’t been related to him by blood, and after his little brother died, that boy’s mother had also passed not long later.

Since, after all, a family’s dirty laundry shouldn’t be aired for all to see, Wei Jiangyue didn’t go into too much detail, but everyone understood that that concubine had most likely had an affair with someone else and been discovered by Manor Lord Wei. At that time, Blood-sucking Ghost had carved a path of carnage through Jianghu, and so Manor Lord Wei had simply sought out the other’s hand as a way to take care of this illegitimate child. If someday the fact that Blood-sucking Ghost hadn’t died was discovered, he could coincidentally use this matter to wash himself of suspicion, receiving many benefits with a single move.

But the boy had nevertheless been an innocent child; Manor Lord Wei was truly too vicious and cruel.

Everyone sighed sorrowfully in their hearts before they saw Wei Jiangyue take out two letters from his chest and hand them over.

They hurriedly accepted and opened them, discovering that these were letters written by someone to Manor Lord Wei.

The letters were already several years old, and the contents were utterly overwhelming in their impact. It spoke of the old matters of Jianghu, touching upon the “secret villa”, “that monster,” “drug testing”, and other such things — this was practically enough to convict Manor Lord Wei already.

The group couldn’t help but give Wei Jiangyue a glance.

This person undoubtedly knew that if he took out these letters, his father’s guilt would definitely be assured; this kind of ability to differentiate between right and wrong was truly hard to come by.

Sect Leader Xuanyang said, “Neither of these two letters have a signature, so who wrote them? The Alliance Leader?”

Academy Master Ge said, “But this doesn’t seem like the Alliance Leader’s handwriting.” Another Sect Master said, “Could it be that he purposely changed his handwriting?”

“That’s certainly a possibility…”

Wei Jiangyue didn’t pay attention to them, turning his gaze once again to Sir Xiao and Wenren Heng before taking off his sword and offering it over.

Everyone in the righteous faction stopped their discussion at once and looked over.

The anteroom once again turned so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

Ye You’s tone was still that same calm. “What? Do you wish to atone for your father’s sins and pay for your father’s debts?”

Wei Jiangyue said, “Your master’s death was caused by my father, so I’m leaving my life in your hands.”

Ye You said, “So you’re paying me with this life of yours, but who will pay for all the rest of the countless lives that your father destroyed?”

A flash of pain flickered through Wei Jiangyue’s eyes.

He naturally also knew that no matter how much he paid, he’d never be able to make up for all the departed souls that had died under his father’s hands over these twenty years.

Ye You slightly lowered his eyes, covering up most of the emotions in his pupils.

He very much wanted to tell this person, your Wei family has to pay for not only my master’s one life but also the ninety-six human lives in my Yang family; are you even capable of paying it!

However, just as the words were about to reach his throat, he managed to push them back.

He quietly looked at Wei Jiangyue. Actually, he had never cared whether or not this person would’ve been able to find anything. He had simply wanted to force Wei Haide into a corner, letting Wei Haide feel a sense of crisis. Later, he had let Wei Jiangyue return home merely because he wanted to take an opportunity to plot a route to Beiyan Village, so as to cut off one of the white piece’s arms as well as force Wei Haide’s hand at the same time.

As for Wei Jiangyue and the people in Wei and Ding families, he had naturally hated them.

During the first two years when his hatred had reached its peak, he had even wanted to capture that Wei and Ding when he had completely learned his miraculous skill and, after sealing those two’s acupoints, kill their family members right in front of them one by one, letting them taste the same pain that he had tasted that year.

But he had still ultimately chosen this path instead because he didn’t want to become like either Wei or Ding who willfully slaughtered the innocent; he didn’t want to turn into the kind of person that he hated the most.

“You should get up,” he said, voice flat, walking past Wei Jiangyue to head outside. Right as he was about to exit the room, he stopped and said, “That’s right, a few days ago, me and my Senior Brother happened to meet your father, that monster, and the others, so we set up a trap and managed to cut off one of your father’s arms.”

Wei Jiangyue abruptly stiffened.

“Also, the Alliance Leader is already dead. Although we were the ones who set the trap, in the end, his death was caused by your little sister.” After throwing down those words, Ye You walked out without looking back.

The anteroom turned still for an instant before then immediately exploding with a bang.

Everyone looked towards Wenren Heng, asking him what exactly had happened. Wenren Heng glanced at the door and held back the impulse to chase after his Junior Brother. Instead, he first pulled Wei Jiangyue off the floor and then patiently explained to the elders the entire course of events. Of course, he left out the parts about his Junior Brother’s martial arts and how the other was poisoned.

And when he finally finished saying all this and returned to the room, he then learned that his Junior Brother had long already left.

He didn’t quite believe that his Junior Brother would be so annoyed over such a small thing and, looking towards his subordinate, said, “He didn’t say anything?”

The scarred man said, “Young Master Xiao said he wanted to go out and take a walk by himself so as to take the time to better appreciate life.”

Wenren Heng was speechless.

The scarred man said, “Sect Master isn’t going to chase after him?”

Wenren Heng muttered to himself for a time before asking, “Where are Ding Xilai and Ren Shaotian and them?”

The scarred man startled. “This subordinate hadn’t been paying attention.”

Wenren Heng said, “Go investigate.”

Having received the order, the scarred man then went out and returned after expending only a short moment of effort. The person reported that Ding Xilai was currently carrying some food to his room and had probably just been shopping along the streets. Right now, there was only Wei Jin by his side, with no sign of Ren Shaotian.

Wenren Heng nodded. “I know now.”

The scarred man stood to the side for a while. Seeing that his Sect Master still didn’t seem to have any intention of chasing after Young Master Xiao, he was just considering whether or not he should ask once more when he heard a clamor resound from outside. Immediately following, someone shouted, “It’s Sir Zhong!”

The fact that everyone had this big of a reaction meant that this ‘Sir Zhong’ was definitely referring to the Alliance Leader’s son.

The scarred man was immediately shocked, as he had long already learned from his Sect Master that Sir Zhong had been kidnapped by Xie Junming, and that the person had even found a strong man as a guard, with the excuse that this man had fallen for the other.

But this wasn’t the important part, the important part was that Shaolin wasn’t close at all to where they were.

Manor Lord Wei had left only a few days ago, so even if they sent the information to Shaolin, the information wouldn’t have reached the place so quickly. So how did they arrange for the person to be brought over?

Unless Sir Zhong had already been brought outside of Shaolin’s territory previously, since only then could he be sent to Wuyun City in such a short amount of time.

He couldn’t help but look at the Sect Master. Wenren Heng stood up and went outside.

The scarred man hurriedly followed, arriving at the anteroom right behind the other. He raised his head and saw that Sir Zhong had just thrown himself into Ding Xilai’s embrace to wail, “Xilai, I finally damn well managed to leave! You don’t know what kind of days I’ve been living! I’ve decided that I’ll practice martial arts every single day in the future! I definitely have to succeed and become an expert waahhh!”

The Junior Sect Masters sized him up. They saw that he was wearing appropriate clothing and, rather than getting skinnier, even appeared to be slightly rounder. It appeared like ‘those kinds of days’ had passed quite comfortably, seemingly completely at odds with his wailing appearance.

Ding Xilai blankly held the other. He had originally believed that, the next time they met, they’d be estranged, utterly unable to return to the way that they used to be. He never could’ve imagined that his good friend’s attitude would be the same as always. As he wasn’t a complete fool, he quickly guessed that his good friend most likely hadn’t learned that Sir Xiao had been the one to orchestrate the kidnapping, and was even more unaware that the Alliance Leader had already passed. Feeling his heart grow in discomfort, he almost felt like crying.

After Sir Zhong had enough of crying, he said, “That’s right, where is this? Where’s my dad? I’ve finally returned after all that, so where is he? I’ve missed him.”

The surroundings fell into deathly stillness.

Ding Xilai looked at him, opening and closing his mouth, unable to say a single word.

Sir Zhong said, “What’s wrong with you?”

Ding Xilai’s heart trembled, and he stiffly changed the topic. “How… how did you pass these days?”

“Let’s not talk about it anymore,” Sir Zhong said in grief and indignation, “I caught the eye of a strong man, and he wanted to take me as a wife! Since I didn’t agree, he refused to let me go. Don’t you think he was damn crazy?”

Ding Xilai said, “…Ah?”

At this time, Wenren Heng had already reached Xie Junming’s side. When he gave the other a look, he saw this rascal let out a faint smile and thereupon knew that, sure enough, it was this person’s handiwork that had allowed Sir Zhong to arrive so quickly.

The scarred man couldn’t endure it and curiously approached the side of Wuwang Temple’s left protector. He asked in a low voice, “It seems like he hasn’t realized that anything’s wrong. How did all of you do it?”

The left protector said, “It was quite easy. For instance, you first find a courtyard in the next county town, then arrange it in the same way as the previous one, and afterwards, when night falls, knock the person unconscious and bring him over. When he wakes up the next day, he’ll then believe that he’s still in the same place as he was originally.”

The scarred man was astonished. “So you slowly brought the person over like that?”

The left protector said, “Yes, starting from when we went to Shengyin City, they had been moving outwards. Ever since, every time we moved away, they also moved to a suitable place in order to guarantee that they wouldn’t be too far away.”

The scarred man asked, “And this really wasn’t exposed?”

The left protector said, “It was. That courtyard had a tree. On the third time, he noticed that the tree seemed somewhat different.”

The scarred man said, “And then?”

The left protector said, “The strong man then became extremely angry because Sir Zhong would rather look at the tree than at him.”

The scarred man didn’t understand and asked without embarrassment, “So?”

The left protector said, “So he cut down that tree in one move, wanting to burn it as firewood. Sir Zhong immediately became frightened and ran into the house. Since then, every time we found a courtyard, we had to cut down the tree, tsk.”

What kind of deranged idea was this? Was this all learned from Xie Junming?

The scarred man returned to the Sect Master’s side, stupefied.

Although the Sheng family residence was this lively and bustling, Ye You had long already left the city and was currently following the small path alone towards the forest on the outskirts of the city. The sky gradually darkened, and he finally set foot in the small forest. Jumping onto a tree that looked pleasant enough, he turned around to lean against it, quietly watching the road he had come from.

After a time, he lifted up the corners of his lips. “If you still won’t come out, then we both won’t be going back at all tonight.”

Ren Shaotian was immediately speechless and came out to look at him. “Don’t tell me, you came out of the city just to wait for me?”

Ye You said, “Yes, I have something I want to discuss with you.” Ren Shaotian walked over. “What is it?”

Ye You stared steadily at him and, after a while of silence, said, “I know that you like me.”

Ren Shaotian, “…”

This was truly a grand misunderstanding.

Chapter 108

Ren Shaotian twisted his lips. “Sir Xiao, there seems to be a slight misunderstanding.”

Ye You said, “There’s no need to explain. I can tell that you seem to care a lot about me.”

After a short pause, as if he felt it wasn’t enough, he added, “My Senior Brother can also tell.”

“…” The smile that Ren Shaotian always maintained had frozen stiff on his face.

He had actually followed because he had been urged by his young master.

Before at the Sheng family residence, the young master had seen Sir Xiao leave alone, with a back that seemed to carry a faint trace of loneliness, and so had thereupon wanted to chase after. They had followed the other all the way onto the street, and when the young master had seen Sir Xiao walking aimlessly alone, the young master had guessed that the other maybe had some discomfort in his heart and so had wanted to go over to keep him company.

But since the matter of the other falling into the water at Wanping Weir, Ren Shaotian had already learned that Sir Xiao was even less simple than the other ordinarily appeared, and might still retain those martial arts, so this time the other had perhaps left for the sake of attending to some business. Thus, he used the fact that “Sir Xiao maybe wants some peace and quiet by himself” as an excuse to advise the young master.

His thoughts were that since Sir Xiao was the black piece, he should let the black piece advance more smoothly in order to finish this chess game quickly so that everything could be resolved. But his young master was thinking of who-knew-what and looked towards him at once, proposing that he follow Sir Xiao with the reasoning that, “Sir Xiao’s body is that weak, while the white piece is constantly after Sir Xiao’s life, so going outside on his own like this is too dangerous!”

He was left unable to respond.

His young master said again, “Shaotian, I know that if we return now, you also definitely won’t feel at ease.”

At that time, he really wanted to refute, but he wasn’t able to get it out, because he really… was somewhat uneasy.

Thus, he obeyed the order and followed Sir Xiao, even following the person the entire way out of the city, but it turned out that this person hadn’t had any business from the start and had simply wanted to discuss matters of the heart with him.

He was completely full of regrets.

If he had known ahead of time that he’d fall into such a pit, he wouldn’t have followed.

Ye You saw that he was silent and added another blow, “It’s because I knew that you were concerned about me that I was certain that you’d follow me.”

Ren Shaotian’s heart was full of grievances, but out loud, he said, “You should’ve noticed that we were following behind you and guessed that the young master would send me then.”

Ye You said, “Then why didn’t your young master send Wei Jin and wanted to send you directly?”

Ren Shaotian said, “He isn’t able to order around Wei Jin.”

Ye You let out a faint sigh, appearing as if he had given up, and said, “Whatever you say then. If you say it isn’t like that, then isn’t.”

Ren Shaotian surrendered, deciding not to argue semantics with him, and asked, “You came out today just for the sake of asking me about this?” Ye You said, “Of course not. There’s something I want to request from you.”

Ren Shaotian immediately felt more comfortable, feeling that it truly was better to discuss proper business. He was just about to open his mouth to ask when he heard this person say, “Could you take off your mask and let me see what you look like?”

He startled and unconsciously touched his mask. “My face is injured.”

Ye You said, “See? Sure enough, you’re concerned about me, not wanting to let me see your ugly appearance…”

Before he even finished speaking, Ren Shaotian couldn’t take it anymore and hurriedly took off his mask.

Ye You saw it very clearly, and his pupils abruptly contracted, the rest of his words catching rigidly in his throat, the blood in his entire body feeling as if it had frozen solid in an instant.

Since he wore a mask year-round, Ren Shaotian had clear tan lines on both his cheeks, and from the space between his brows to his left cheek, there was a scar, truly an injury, which looked like it was already many years old. But this didn’t prevent other people from looking at the side of his face that was perfectly fine and seeing how outstandingly handsome he used to be.

Ren Shaotian took it off for only a moment before once again putting it back on. He asked, “Why exactly were you looking for me?”

Ye You didn’t reply.

He felt his hands shaking minutely, feeling stifling emotions fill his mind and overflow into his chest, very quickly drawing up the remnants of the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison. He felt only a dull ache in his heart before he vomited out a mouthful of blood, completely caught off guard.

Ren Shaotian’s expression changed slightly, and without even thinking, he rushed over. This person was far too clever and, in the space of a conversation, was able to set a trap for someone. Just now, he hadn’t dared to get too close, but at this moment, he wasn’t able to endure. This feeling was exceedingly familiar, since he had also panicked the last two times Sir Xiao had encountered mishap. He was completely averse to seeing this person unwell.

He thought that perhaps it was possible that he really did like this person.

So, towards the young master’s words, he had never really refuted it with any intensity.

“You…” He quickly rushed close and, upon discovering that this blood was actually black, said, “You were poisoned?”

“Yes, by the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison.” Ye You leaned against the tree, taking off the blood-stained bandages and throwing it aside. He said in a low voice, “A few days ago, me and Senior Brother set a trap for that monster, and I was hit with a palm strike from the monster.”

Ren Shaotian’s expression once again changed. “What?”

Ye You said, “I don’t have very many days to live, so I have something to request from you.”

Ren Shaotian looked at his deathly pale face and once again felt a great panic rising, origins unknown. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Say it.”

Ye You said, “Don’t tell my Senior Brother about me being poisoned, and just bury me in secret. It’d be fine to bury me in your hometown. Where is your hometown? When you were little… where did you live?”

Ren Shaotian said, “In a small village in the south.” Ye You said, “What was the village called?”

Ren Shaotian was distraught with anxiety, completely distracted, and, upon hearing this, had to force himself to turn some of his attention back. After a moment of thought, he said, “It was

called Xiaoshi Village269. I lived there when I was very young. Later, there was a disaster, and I fled with my parents. They passed away on the road and left only me by myself. Finally, I was picked up and taken in by the people of Lingjian Pavilion.”

Ye You said, “What kind of disaster?”

Ren Shaotian said, “Perhaps a flood… I can’t remember.”

Ye You said, “Which province and which county was that Xiaoshi Village in, do you know?”

Ren Shaotian said, “Why are you asking these things?”

Ye You coughed several times and furrowed his brows in pain. “I at least need to know about the place where I’m going to be buried in the future.”

Just thinking of the other’s current state made Ren Shaotian uncomfortable, and so he could only think back and give him an approximate county name. Immediately following, he felt that it wasn’t good to continue like this and said, “I’ll take you to Shaolin to find Miracle Doctor Ji. Wait for me to say a word to the Pavilion Master and them, and I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

In an instant, Ye You wasn’t able to control his temper and used a hand to hold the other back, gritting his teeth and forcing out a full sentence, “From today onward, don’t let me hear you call that surnamed Ding by the title ‘Pavilion Master’!”

These words were said extremely rudely, even carrying with it clear loathing.

Ren Shaotian’s heart sank, and he immediately had a kind of bad premonition, but by the time he was able to react, his chest’s acupoints had already been sealed. He looked at the person in front of him and, upon seeing that Sir Xiao’s face was completely cold, said, “You…” Ye You took off his mask and stared at him, saying, only after a long moment, in a low voice, “This scar, who caused it?”

Ren Shaotian suddenly found this all somewhat absurd.

A moment ago, they had seemed to be in a state of mutual hostility, but in the next moment, this person could actually ask him this question as if the other was concerned. However, the emotions in Sir Xiao’s eyes were too dense, heavily enveloping him, pressing him down so he was practically unable to take a breath.

He straightened out his senses. “Release me.” Ye You continued asking, “Who caused it?”

Ren Shaotian could only reply, “It was an accidental injury from one of my missions. Release me.”

Ye You moved towards him a step. “Look at my face, is it familiar? You’re concerned about me because you’ve seen me before, right? Two days ago, I heard my Senior Brother say that, when I fell off the cliff at Shaolin, you saw my true appearance.”

Ren Shaotian wanted to refute, but he very quickly became aware that he truly did start becoming concerned about this person after seeing the other’s face.

He frowned. “What do you want to do?”

Ye You said, “You’ve definitely already heard about the fact that if a child takes the white piece’s drug, then his memories will slowly become hazy.”

Ren Shaotian stared at him. “What are you saying? You want to say that I’ve also taken that drug?”

Ye You said, “Do you believe me?”

Ren Shaotian said, “No, I don’t, if I had taken the drug, why would I enter ‘Moon’s Shadow’? The Pavilion Master also couldn’t possibly give the young master… ah…” He had spoken only halfway when Ye You directly grabbed his mouth, fiercely shoving a medicinal pill into it.

Ye You said, “I’ll say it again, don’t let me hear you call him ‘Pavilion Master’!”

Ren Shaotian finally started feeling somewhat angry this time. “What did you give me?”

“A drug that blocks your internal energy.” As Ye You spoke, he turned to the forest to say, “Come out.”

Elder Mei soundlessly jumped out from her hiding place and arrived at his side.

Ye You pulled out two bottles and handed them over to her. “There were only two left of the drug to block internal energy, and I’ve already fed one to him. Here, take this other one. When half a month is over and the efficacy fades, feed him this again.”

Elder Mei said, “Understood. Then that other bottle?”

Ye You said, “It’s the antidote that Miracle Doctor Ji made. Take it, and decide whether to use it or not based on the situation.

Otherwise, look into what’s in his mouth. If he’s hidden some poison, get it out.”

Ren Shaotian said, “Where are you going to take me?”

“Don’t you not believe me? I have a way to get you to believe. Right now, go to that Xiaoshi Village of yours and see if a flood has ever happened, and if you ever actually lived there! See if you’re really surnamed Ren or surnamed Yang!” Ye You replied in a cold voice, his chest once again giving off a tearing pain. He slowly breathed out a few breaths and then told the location of Xiaoshi Village to Elder Mei. He said, “He’s quite clever, so don’t leave him alone no matter if he’s eating, drinking, shitting, pissing, or sleeping. If you let him run away…”

Elder Mei immediately raised her hand and pledged, “Don’t worry, Sect Master, this subordinate will definitely watch over him well.

Even if he goes to the toilet, I’ll follow closely behind him.” Ren Shaotian already didn’t know if he should be asking this person what he knew or if he should be asking Elder Mei why she was referring to this person as ‘Sect Master’. With his mind in chaos, his first question was, “Could you find me a man instead?”

Ye You said, “Who told you that she was a woman?” Ren Shaotian, “…”

Elder Mei wasn’t very happy, but looking at the Sect Master’s appearance, she didn’t dare to speak too much in the end.

Ye You said, “After you’ve finished investigating, take him back to Xiaoqing Mountain and lock him up. Don’t let him out without my orders.”

Ren Shaotian suddenly looked at him and saw that he was coincidentally looking back, those eyes carrying some extremely dense emotions, even appearing to carry a layer of wetness.

The anger in his heart suddenly seemed to vanish, unbidden, and he let out a sigh before attempting to talk reason, “Sir Xiao…”

“I’m called Ah-You. In the past, you always called me this.” Ye You gave him one final look before leaving without looking back.

The two remaining people mutually looked at one another. Elder Mei waited for a while and, upon determining that the drug had taken effect, unsealed his acupoints before grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. Ren Shaotian had an entire pile of things he wanted to say and couldn’t help but look at the person next to him.

Elder Mei said, “I’ll advise you not to play any tricks because they won’t be of any use. If you really provoke me, then I’ll strip you naked and throw you into a carriage, only returning your clothes when we reach our destination.”

“…” Ren Shaotian looked at her flat chest and then examined her beautiful face. Remembering what Sir Xiao said, he forced a smile as he said, “I say, big brother…”

Elder Mei said, “Call me Lady Mei. I’m a woman.” Ren Shaotian said, “All right, Lady Mei. Could I first take a small trip back?”

“No,” Elder Mei said, “Don’t worry. Even if you suddenly disappear, our Sect Master will definitely find you a good excuse.”

Ren Shaotian said, “He’s poisoned. You aren’t worried?”

Elder Mei said, “I’m worried, but the Sect Master still wants to live on together with the Madam, so he’s definitely keeping count in his heart. Even if it’s for the Madam, he wouldn’t simply throw his life away on a whim. Martial Hero Ren, I’ve followed the Sect Master for this many years and I’ve never seen him this angry, so if you return to help that surnamed Ding, the Sect Master might actually start vomiting blood out of anger; then things would become truly terrible.”

Ren Shaotian closed his eyes and said with difficulty, “The Pavilion Master is also the white piece.”

Elder Mei said, “Yes.”

Ren Shaotian said, “How much do all of you know?”

Elder Mei said, “I know only a bit more than you, that’s all.” Ren Shaotian said, “For instance?”

Elder Mei said, “For instance, that Pavilion Master Ding is the white piece, and that you’re probably a very important person to the Sect Master. You heard what he said just now. If you truly had been fed that drug, then you aren’t Ren Shaotian. You don’t want to investigate clearly?”

Ren Shaotian fell silent.

When Ye You returned, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Before he returned, he ripped off some cloth from the sleeves of his inner clothing, turning them into bandages and winding them around his face. The Sheng family’s household servant had a deep impression of his “lantern” appearance and, knowing that he was an important guest, hastily let the person inside.

The Sheng family residence was built to be quite big, with pavilions and pagodas and such all present.

Lanterns hung along the courtyard, swaying gently in the ice-cold night wind.

With this small amount of light, Ye You followed the stone pathway to the guestrooms. Right as he arrived at the gardens, he saw Pavilion Master Ding standing in front of the lotus pond. His expression turned cold, and he went over.

Pavilion Master Ding heard the footsteps and turned around, asking, “You just returned?”

Ye You said, “Yes, my mood wasn’t good, so I went on a walk.”

Pavilion Master Ding said indifferently, “Every wrong has a wrongdoer, and every debt has a debtor. It’s the fault of that fatty; it has nothing to do with Wei Jiangyue. Handing over those letters to us was not an easy thing to do.”

The emotions in Ye You’s eyes turned even colder, and he calmly asked, “Why isn’t Pavilion Master Ding resting in his room and is instead standing out here?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “I’m thinking about a few things.”

Ye You said, “Oh? Thinking about what? Thinking about whether or not Manor Lord Wei has some hidden hardships?”

“Those two letters are not easy to dismiss. That fatty truly did something wrong,” Pavilion Master Ding said coldly, “I just don’t understand why he did such a thing. What’s more, according to his personality, these kinds of letters should’ve long already been burned. Why didn’t he burn them?”

“Does the Pavilion Master really not know? Do you still not know why he keeps maintaining that appearance of having hidden hardships?” Ye You walked forward a step. “I’ll tell you — it’s because you’re here.”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “What are you saying?”

“What an easy thing to understand. He’s already been pulled down into the mud by me, but you haven’t been yet.” Ye You stared at him. “For a long time now, you two have believed that me and Senior Brother were taking revenge on him for the sake of our master and were completely unaware that you’re also the white piece. After ensuring your safety, he’d then disappear, and after a few years, with one in the open and the other in the dark, you two would kill off me and Senior Brother before then finding a few beautiful excuses, producing some sufficient evidence, and then throwing everything onto another person’s head. He could then return with his head held high, while taking the time while he’s in hiding to conceal his identity to do some good deeds. Then upon his return, his reputation would actually grow instead of fall, and he could even still be praised for having endured humiliation for the sake of justice, isn’t that right?”

Pavilion Master Ding’s expression darkened slightly.

“When me and Senior Brother set the trap for Wei Haide earlier, his subordinates managed to hurry over very quickly,” Ye You said, “At the time he left, Wei Haide had left in a hurry, and there was no one of any use by his side. Before he left, the only one he had contact with was you. During the time you two were exchanging blows, you two definitely managed to discuss quite a few things, so you sent out the information the moment he left. That’s why that group of people was able to hurry over to cause us trouble so promptly.”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “These are all just your own conjectures.”

“Stop quibbling, I can’t be bothered to listen,” Ye You said, “Since I suspect you, naturally I wouldn’t rely only on as small a thing as this to determine your guilt. I’m just bringing up something that happened recently in passing.”

Pavilion Master Ding coldly looked at him. “Oh, regarding those two letters, it’s even easier to explain,” Ye You said, “From the start, that was something that Wei Haide had purposely left behind for Wei Jiangyue. He’s that cautious, so he’s naturally thought of what to do if he’s one day exposed. Those letters then are one solution. Because he needed to pass down Fengxian Manor to Wei Jiangyue, and according to Wei Jiangyue’s disposition, the person would definitely hand over those letters, thereby receiving a reputation for righteousness. And with Fengxian Manor’s foundation, it’d be enough to give Wei Jiangyue firm footing in Jianghu, isn’t that so?”

He said, mocking, “But this matter wouldn’t have worked if it was changed to you or the Alliance Leader, since your two families’ children don’t have that kind of ability. Oh, but this also reminds me, regarding why all of you still raised those drugged men over the years even after all of you achieved your desired positions and reputations, I’m guessing that either you wanted to destroy all that power slowly before handing everything down to your children, or you wanted to find some loyal and devoted people to take over that power before retiring. It wouldn’t matter then if your children didn’t have the ability; as long as that power was helping them in secret, they wouldn’t be too badly off. But did all of you believe that I’d let you fulfill your wishes? Right now, the drugged men are almost entirely gone. After you die, guess how long that darling son of yours will live in the hands of me and my Senior Brother?”

He slightly paused and then said, “Oh, that’s right. You’re standing here right now because you heard that Ren Shaotian was following behind me, so you wanted to wait for him and ask him where I went, right? There’s no need to wait anymore. I’ve already killed him. I also killed Fuping. Who do you think the next one will be?”

Pavilion Master Ding’s expression finally had a slight change. “The things between us, don’t pull in Xilai.”

Ye You let out a laugh. “Pavilion Master Ding, aren’t you quite familiar with those words?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “What?” “Over these years, how many people have cried and begged for you to spare their children? How did you answer them?” Ye You looked at the killing intent in this person’s eyes and said, smiling, “What?

When it’s your turn, then you can’t take it anymore? All of you really disgust me. Did you know, over this period of time, every time I had to speak with all of you, how much I especially wanted to, one cut at a time…”

His figure flashed, and in an instant, he moved in close to the other party.

Pavilion Master Ding had yet to receive news from Manor Lord Wei and hadn’t at all expected this person to still retain those martial arts. In a blink, his pupils contracted, and he unconsciously retreated a step. However, at this moment, he was already standing right at the edge of the pond, and with this one step, half his foot ended up suspended in the air.

Practically at the same time as he retreated, Ye You simultaneously moved ever slightly closer, reaching out a hand to push very lightly at his chest before finally finishing those words just now, “Chop all of you to pieces.”

This moment caught Pavilion Master Ding almost completely off guard.

His body lost its balance and immediately fell into the pond, sending out a large crashing splash.

Those living at the Sheng family residence were all Jianghu people, and upon hearing this, they all hurried over.

At this time, Wenren Heng was just about to head outside to wait for his Junior Brother and so had practically seen the entire course of events, being the first one to arrive. He held his Junior Brother and sighed at the questioning adventurers before saying, “Just now, Pavilion Master Ding was thinking of things too deeply, so he accidentally fell in.”

He looked at his Junior Brother and tenderly asked, “Were you scared?” With his hand held by the other, Ye You slowly curbed his chilling air. Shaking his head, he saw a certain person crawling out, dripping wet, and so walked over to ask in concern, “Pavilion Master Ding, are you all right?”

In these twenty years, Pavilion Master Ding had never been as unlucky as this, and his expression was ashen. Suppressing his anger, he said coldly, “Nothing’s wrong.”

The adventurers said one after the other, “It’s good that nothing’s wrong. Hurry and return to the room then, Pavilion Master Ding, we’ll let the kitchen make some ginger soup…”

The group of people crowded around Pavilion Master Ding and quickly left together. The pond gradually turned quiet.

Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother. “What happened? You found out what the issue was with Ren Shaotian?

Ye You’s voice was extremely soft, “Senior Brother, I don’t want to stay here. If you really let me stay here overnight, I definitely won’t be able to hold back my desire to rush over and kill some people in the dead of night.”

Wenren Heng’s pupils slightly darkened. “I’ll go outside with you.” Ye You said, “I want to go drinking.”

“No, you can’t. We still don’t know if the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison in your body has completely dissipated or not. You shouldn’t drink for now.” Wenren Heng gave him a glance. “You changed the bandages on your face?”

Ye You said, “Yes, I tore them off.”

Wenren Heng said, “Because of Ren Shaotian?”

Ye You fell silent for a moment before saying the truth, “I still have some poison in my body. Today, when anger filled my heart, I vomited blood, so I tore off the bandages.” Wenren Heng suddenly tightened his hold on the other’s hand and said in a way that brooked no refusal, “In a while, send someone to deliver a letter to Shaolin and let Miracle Doctor Ji and them hurry over.”

Ye You didn’t refuse and once again said, “I want to go drinking.”

Wenren Heng said, “You might as well just directly drink my blood then.”

Ye You said, “But I really want to drink.”

He held his head and couldn’t help but start laughing lowly, “Senior Brother, our guess was right. Ren Shaotian really is my big brother. He didn’t die. That surnamed Ding bastard fed him that drug and made him into a servant, ordering him around for twenty years. Oh, that’s right, my big brother’s face also had a scar. I don’t know if it’s something that surnamed Ding contrived, since after all, my big brother looks a lot like my dad…”

Wenren Heng felt his entire heart aching at the sound of this laughter, and he grabbed the other’s waist, pulling the person tightly into his embrace.

Ye You continued laughing, “Last time, we managed to undo the drug’s effects purely on accident. What if this drug truly doesn’t have a cure, and so he might remain loyal and devoted to that surnamed Ding for his entire life. But he’s obviously my big brother, he’s the Yang family’s eldest young master. Why is it that he’s become like this…”

Wenren Heng said in a hoarse voice, “Stop laughing, Ah-You, I’ll go drinking with you.”

Ye You felt a tang in his throat and, grabbing the clothes on his Senior Brother’s chest, stiffly swallowed back a mouthful of blood.

He hated, truly hated, hated to the point that he wanted to end those people in a show of mutual self-destruction.

Wenren Heng couldn’t hear his answer and said in a low voice, “Ah- You?” Ye You used his internal energy to suppress his raging inborn energy and said, “Let’s go.”

Wenren Heng pinched his chin and assessed him. Ye You said, “Nothing’s wrong with me.”

Wenren Heng pulled aside the bandages to feel the other’s forehead. Upon feeling all the cold sweat, his heart sank. “You call this ‘nothing’s wrong’?”

Ye You said, “Then I still don’t want to stay here.”

Wenren Heng gave him a look before pulling him along to leave the Sheng family residence, going outside to pick out an inn. He then instructed his subordinate to go buy some wine before pulling the person into his arms and softly patting the other’s back.

Feeling this familiar warmth, Ye You felt his nerves begin to calm little by little.

He closed his eyes and then immediately felt his acupoint being hit, at once sending him into unconsciousness. Wenren Heng lifted him and carried him onto the bed, unraveling his bandages to look at his complexion before letting out a sigh.

Chapter 109

Pavilion Master Ding had just finished changing his clothes when he saw his subordinates carry over a cup of ginger tea.

He instructed all of them to leave and then held the cup in hand as he sat on the chair, his face completely ice-cold.

The candlelight burned faintly, the room illuminated with a layer of dim light.

He stared at the minute patterns of the furniture, his entire mind full of the words that Ah-Xiao had spoken just now.

When he had straightened out his senses and carefully gone over this entire incident once through, he became aware that this chessboard had been set up for the three of them from the beginning. Ah-Xiao knew they were partners and so had used methods to tear them apart one by one.

Back when they were first at Shaolin, he had once found Ah-Xiao to discuss the matters of the chessboard, and in both words and actions, Ah-Xiao kept trying to draw attention to Wei Haide and the Alliance Leader, what with, “the white piece has an enemy who wants to play dirty tricks,” “the black piece could be the white piece’s partner or trusted confidante,” and so on. Practically all of it was for the sake of making him suspicious of those two people.

What was even more disastrous was that Ah-Xiao had already long seen through their weaknesses. Thus, when going to capture Mr.

Xiao that night, the person had specially called over Xilai. As such, when he and the Alliance Leader had hurried back to Shaolin from Xiangxing City, the Alliance Leader’s expression had immediately turned off upon learning that his son had been kidnapped while Jiangyue and Xilai had done a deed of great merit together, and the other began worrying about being used as a throwaway piece.

Pavilion Master Ding slowly stroked the teacup, sorting out his trains of thought. Later, after Ah-Xiao succeeded in driving a wedge between them and managed to force the Alliance Leader away, the person’s second step was to confront Wei Haide.

At that time, they were even more suspicious that this person was the black piece and quickly determined that the matter with Elder Yu was what provided the motivation.

That matter had been caused by a moment of negligence by Wei Haide, and because Ah-Xiao and Wenren Heng had always treated him very respectfully and were also very close to Xilai, they had of course inevitably believed that only Wei Haide had been exposed. After becoming aware of this relationship, they then knew that there was still a chance to counterattack, and since they had been in a bad position all this while, they needed someone to return and assume command. Thus, during that period of time, Wei Haide had already finished making preparations to leave at any time.

Now that he thought about it, those details had all been purposely put on display by Ah-Xiao and Wenren Heng, and even leaking the matter about Wei Haide being the white piece to Shaotian was also an intentional move by Ah-Xiao. This person’s intelligence was truly terrifying!

But how exactly did Ah-Xiao learn that the three of them were partners?

Who exactly was he? Why did he know so many things? Pavilion Master Ding deeply furrowed his brows.

Now that Wei Haide had already been forcibly exposed, with Ah- Xiao’s skill and the letters that Wei Jiangyue provided, Wei Haide would probably never be able to make a comeback for the rest of his life. Then Ah-Xiao and Wenren Heng’s next target was going to be him!

His pupils darkened, and he hastily went out, going to Ding Xilai’s room. But, as it turned out, his foolish son wasn’t even around, and his heart thumped, his limbs going cold in an instant. In a stern voice, he asked, “Where is he?” The subordinate had never seen Pavilion Master Ding this anxious and received a fright, replying with, “The young master should… should be in Young Master Zhong’s room.”

Pavilion Master Ding immediately went over. When he pushed open the door, he saw that Ding Xilai was huddled on a chair in front of the bed, currently foolishly staring at the person on it. Conversely, Xiao-Zhong had long already gone to sleep, his eyes somewhat swollen, most likely because the person had cried after hearing about the entire sequence of events.

Ding Xilai saw him, instinctively tensing up his face and standing up. With a face still bearing a touch of sadness and grief, the person said, “Dad.”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “Come with me.”

Ding Xilai didn’t dare to disobey and obediently went with him to his room. After they entered the room, the person couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, in the future, can Xiao-Zhong come live with us?”

Pavilion Master Ding looked at the other, somewhat unsure of how to reply.

Ding Xilai said extremely pitifully, “Uncle Zhong’s been killed, and his house has been burned. Only Xiao-Zhong is left, and there’s no one to protect him. His martial arts aren’t good, and as a prodigal son, he’s never experienced any hardships, so he’d definitely be bullied. If this was me, I’m afraid I won’t even live past ten days. If I don’t take care of him, I don’t know what’ll happen to him in the future.”

Without any warning, Pavilion Master Ding reached out a hand and softly patted him on his shoulder.

Ding Xilai felt his words immediately become stuck in his throat, feeling somewhat alarmed. His old man had always been stern and was very rarely ever this kind towards him. Right now, could the other be thinking that he’s finally grown up and was feeling moved?

He immediately proudly puffed out his chest. Pavilion Master Ding gave him a few more looks before retracting his hand. Immediately afterwards, he suddenly sealed the other’s acupoints. Ding Xilai couldn’t even utter half a word before taking a fall. With a hand, Pavilion Master Ding caught him.

Watching from the side, Wei Jin startled. “Pavilion Master?”

Pavilion Master Ding gave the other a look before pulling out a small box from his chest and handing it over.

Wei Jin accepted and opened it, discovering that it was a delicate medicinal pill, even giving off a faint, sweet fragrance.

He said, “This is?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “A beneficial medicine for strengthening one’s foundation. Eat it, I have something I want you to do.”

Wei Jin said a word of ‘understood’, took out the pill, and swallowed it.

Pavilion Master Ding said, “Pick out a few people and send away Xilai tonight. Leave right now.”

Wei Jin said, “Send him away?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “Yes, I don’t want him to participate in what’s coming next. Send him to his Second Uncle270’s place and then quickly return. Afterwards, I still have other things for you to do.”

Wei Jin asked one more question, “What if the young master makes a ruckus about wanting to come back?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “Even if you need to tie him up, you need to send him away.”

This whole way, there were many times he wanted to send Xilai away.

But all the other younger generations were here, so if he alone sent someone off, he was afraid that he’d invite suspicion. What’s more, at the time, he was completely unaware that he himself had also been exposed, and since Xilai really enjoyed following Ah-Xiao, he had thought that he might be able to learn a few things, so he hadn’t chased the person away. Who knew that their belief in their own infallible advantage had been used to Ah-Xiao’s own benefit, and that they’d be pulled along by that person all the way up until now!

Wei Jin saw that his face was set and so didn’t ask further, carrying Ding Xilai and going outside to choose a few subordinates before quickly leaving the Sheng family residence.

Wuyun City was a large city, so it was surrounded by city walls, and right now, the city gates had long already closed.

They thus jumped to a secluded area to climb over the walls, deciding to get a carriage only once they got outside. The people of “Moon’s Shadow” agilely followed him, asking, “Captain, where’s Brother Shaotian?”

Wei Jin said, “He was sent by the young master to follow Sir Xiao.”

The people of “Moon’s Shadow” said, “Why didn’t we see him return?”

Wei Jin said, “Perhaps he had some last minute business. If the Pavilion Master also wants him to follow, when he returns, the Pavilion Master will let him come chase us. It’ll be fine as long as we leave some marks along the way.”

The people of “Moon’s Shadow” said, “Understood.”

At this time, the Ren Shaotian whom they were concerned about had long already entered a manor.

When they left, the day had already been late, and they weren’t able to reach the next small county town. Elder Mei then simply found a manor and spent some money for a night of lodgings, even having people heat up some warm water. Sitting alongside the bathtub, she said, “Wash then.” Ren Shaotian, “…”

Elder Mei said, “What are you looking at me for?”

Ren Shaotian reminded, “Lady Mei, men and women are different.”

Elder Mei said, “I know, but didn’t you hear our Sect Master say that I need to accompany you no matter if you’re eating, drinking, shitting, pissing, or sleeping?”

Ren Shaotian, “…”

Elder Mei rested her chin in hand and said, “Then let’s say it like this, Martial Hero Ren — everything that your body has, I also have, and everything that your body doesn’t have, I also don’t have, so there’s no need to feel that I’ll be embarrassed. All right, hurry and take off your clothes then.”

Ren Shaotian, “…”

These words seemed to hide some incredibly vicious implications. Elder Mei said, “Do you need me to help you take off your clothes?”

“No need.” Ren Shaotian saw that she truly wasn’t leaving and so began taking off his clothes, completely ignoring her assessment. Stepping into the bathtub to soak, he said, “You really don’t want to go back? With you leaving like this, how many people will the Demonic Sect have left?”

Elder Mei said, “It’s all right. While Xiao-Ji and Xiao-Bai were previously sent to escort those drugged men away, they’ll probably get in contact with a few Hall Masters on the way and hand the task over to them. In two days, they’ll be able to make it back. What, you want to go back?”

Ren Shaotian was very frank, “Yes, I’m ill at ease. What if I don’t get involved with the matters of Lingjian Pavilion and only watch from the side?”

Elder Mei said, “No.” Ren Shaotian said, “You and I both know that this chess game is quickly coming to an end, and the monster and Manor Lord Wei could come at any time. It’s a critical moment right now. I’ll definitely investigate my own matters, but not right this instant.”

Elder Mei said, “No means no.”

Not wanting to continue speaking of this, she changed the topic, “Brother Shaotian, your body seems pretty good.”

As a vice-captain of “Moon’s Shadow”, Ren Shaotian wouldn’t be so easily played by her. On the contrary, he actually pulled up a wicked smile and raised his brows to say, “Then let’s take a bath together?”

His mask had already been removed, so for an instant, Elder Mei felt that his elegant bearing was somewhat similar to the Sect Master’s and slightly startled. Following that, she shyly lowered her head, but right as Ren Shaotian felt that she was going to refuse, she said in a small voice, “Then… then all right.”

Ren Shaotian stared at her, without moving or speaking, wanting to know if she was actually serious.

Elder Mei was serious, quickly taking off her clothes and entering the tub. Taking a look at his expression, she said, “You thought I wouldn’t dare? Martial Hero Ren, we’ve lived in our Sect Master’s and Temple Master Xie’s hands for several years already, so something like this isn’t even worth mentioning. I told you before that you shouldn’t struggle.”

Ren Shaotian, “…”

How exactly did all of you live these past few years?

Ren Shaotian’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he glanced at the clothes that she had thrown to the side. Steadying his patience, he soaked for a bit longer, but right as he was about to say that he had finished washing, his acupoint was hit by the person in front of him, and he couldn’t help but look towards her.

Elder Mei leaned against the edge of the tub and said in censure, “What’s the hurry? Wait for the other person to finish too.” Ren Shaotian immediately knew that this person could tell that he wanted to grab that antidote and said, resigned, “All right, release me then.”

Elder Mei saw that he had practically given up and, with great merciful benevolence, unsealed his acupoint.

Ren Shaotian helplessly wondered in his heart about what kind of people all these Demonic Sect members were. After a moment of silence, he said, “You should tell me a bit about his matters then.”

“Ah, our Sect Master…” Elder Mei’s eyes were somewhat distant. “He hides his thoughts very deeply, and he usually lives his life freely and easily. If it hasn’t been for the matter this time, we never would’ve known that he has enemies and that those enemies are so difficult to handle.”

Her beautiful eyes carried with them a layer of cold light, and her tone turned gentle, “But it’s all right, since now we know. Our lives are the Sect Master’s, so whoever makes him unhappy will be whoever we’ll make wish they were dead.”

Ye You slept very soundly the whole night, and when he awoke the next day, Wenren Heng had already long been awake.

Right as he opened his eyes, he felt a strong force around his waist, and he was immediately pulled into an embrace by his Senior Brother. He raised his head and said, “You hit my acupoints yesterday?”

Wenren Heng made a sound in agreement. “How do you feel?” Ye You said, “All right.”

Wenren Heng examined him.

After a night of nourishment, his Junior Brother’s complexion was clearly much better than yesterday’s, and the killing intent and chilling air that covered the other’s body had also been curbed. This person appeared to have already gotten used to controlling himself, practically having honed it to perfection.

Heart still aching terribly, he pulled this person into his arms for a moment.

Ye You didn’t much want to get up and buried his head into the other’s neck, closing his eyes.

Wenren Heng said, “Still want to sleep?” Ye You said, “No.”

Wenren Heng then laid there with him, and only when the two started feeling somewhat hungry did they crawl out of bed to go eat.

The streets had long already become lively, with people coming and going every which way.

Ye You didn’t want to eat the inn’s food, directly returning the room, before followed his Senior Brother into Wuyun City’s most famous restaurant. Ordering a few dishes, they started eating. When they had almost finished their meal, his nose suddenly twitched, and he said, “Fengzui’s ‘Thirteen Beauties’.”

Wenren Heng looked around before hearing a soft laugh echoing from the doorway, “Sir Xiao truly knows what’s what.”

The two turned their heads and saw Xie Junming carrying an opened jug of wine as he ostentatiously entered the room.

The fragrance of that wine floated every which way, inciting all the drunkards in the lobby into twitching, their gazes all landing on the wine jug in his hand. Xie Junming ignored them and, smiling, greeted the two in front of him, “What a coincidence, you two.”

Wenren Heng said, “What a coincidence. Is Temple Master Xie here to eat?”

“I’ve finished eating already,” Xie Junming said, “But I found it too boring to stay at the Sheng family residence, so I wanted to come here and wait for lunch.” This reason was too formidable, and everyone in the surroundings fell silent.

Ye You laughed and then asked the waiter for a private room, heading over to it together.

Xie Junming hadn’t come by himself, but Elder Baili seemed to have some business and entered the room only after a while.

Ye You gave him a look and, upon seeing that the other was pouting in the direction of the window, stood up to go investigate. Very quickly, in a corner of the street, he discovered the figure of Chenhong Fort’s Fort Master. Looking extremely aggrieved, that person had changed into a pink dress and was currently encircled by two local hoodlums who were trying to take liberties.

He said, smiling, “Why isn’t he fighting back?”

Xie Junming said, “He said that if he can endure it for an hour, then I should gift him ten jugs of Fengzui. I wanted to see how he’d do it, so I agreed.”

Ye You laughed out loud and gave the scene a few more looks, full of interest. Right when he was about to pass judgment, he heard a hot- headed shout echo from below, “What are you two trying to do in broad daylight?”

This time, not only Ye You but also Xie Junming and Wenren Heng curiously came over to look.

They looked towards the left of the street and saw a large man over two meters tall riding over on a horse. Ye You and Wenren Heng immediately started and, upon hearing Xie Junming mutter ‘who is this’ on the side, explained, “Suiyun Sect’s Sect Master.”

“Suiyun Sect?” Xie Junming said, “That place where you two set the trap for that monster?”

Ye You said, “Yes, that’s the Sect Master. He came here to find us.”

In the time it took them to speak, Suiyun Sect’s Sect Master had already flipped off the horse, rushed over in large strides, and tidied up those two gangsters, extremely agilely and precisely. The Fort Master was stunned and silently looked at the other, the only thought in his head was about how he was going to lose his wine.

Suiyun Sect’s Sect Master saw that there were quite a few Jianghu adventurers nearby and immediately grew angry. “Really, public morals are decreasing by the day! The righteous faction adventurers have actually reached the point where even if they see trouble, they don’t help!”

The adventurers were truly innocent and couldn’t accept this answer, asking, “Who is this esteemed gentleman?”

The Sect Master said, “Suiyun Sect’s Sect Master.”

Suiyun Sect was a sect in the neutral faction and, strictly speaking, wasn’t exactly a righteous faction sect so usually wouldn’t participate in Jianghu disputes.

The adventurers guessed that he most likely didn’t recognize this person and explained, “The Sect Master has misunderstood. The one beside you is a man; he’s even the Chenhong Fort’s Fort Master Chen Hong271, about to be thirty this year.”

The Fort Master inconceivably looked at the person next to him. “Are you a man?”

Chen Hong raised his head, biting his lips as he looked at the other, his limpid eyes looking wet and moist, making him look extremely pitiful.

The Sect Master turned back to look at the adventurers and said angrily, “This is clearly a lady!”

The adventurers, “…”

Those adventurers had a mind to go over and tear open Chen Hong’s clothes, but they all knew that Xie Junming and them were at a restaurant nearby, so the only thing they could do was choose not to lower themselves to his level, using their twitching hands to hold onto their swords before turning around and leaving. Those watching this play from upstairs saw that the Sect Master was comforting Chen Hong, looking about to send him home, and so decided not to show themselves. When they saw those two walk far away, only then did they reluctantly retract their gazes and sit back down.

Xie Junming pushed forward the wine jug. “Drink?”

Ye You looked at his Senior Brother. “That Sect Master came here to look for you. You aren’t returning to the Sheng family residence?”

Wenren Heng said, “One cup.”

Ye You thereupon didn’t try to hurry the other away anymore. Seeing Xie Junming pour him a cup, he then joyfully picked it up and pursed his lips, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. He asked, “Other than coming to find me to play, you don’t have any other business?”

“I actually do have one,” Xie Junming said, “When we were eating breakfast this morning, I didn’t see Ding Xilai at the table.”

Ye You said, “He was sent away?”

Xie Junming said, “Yes, I asked Pavilion Master Ding, and he said he received some news from back home last night that said that Elder Madam Ding’s health wasn’t well and so she wanted to see her grandson. Thus, he let Ding Xilai go back.”

Ye You said, “The excuse he found is quite good.”

He lifted up his cup, wanting to drink another mouthful, but a hand actually reached out from beside him — Wenren Heng took the cup and completely drained the rest of it.

Wenren Heng said tenderly, “I said one cup, but I didn’t say that you could finish drinking it by yourself.”

Ye You felt helpless, but he then thought that his Senior Brother agreeing to let him drink even one mouthful was already not bad, so deciding to quit while he was ahead, he stood up and, “Come on then, let’s go back.” Xie Junming said, “How do you want to do this?”

Ye You narrowed his eyes. “The letters that Wei Jiangyue brought yesterday apparently weren’t written by the Alliance Leader, so I’m going to ask Pavilion Master Ding if he wrote them.”

The moment he heard this, Xie Junming knew that the other wanted to face that surnamed Ding directly, and he immediately became spirited, hastily following them to leave.

The author has something to say:

Regarding Elder Mei, for the details, see chapter 15 and 20 and you can see Elder Mei’s attitude. So all of you guess whether Elder Mei is a man or a woman hahahahahaha~~~~ 

Chapter 110

When Ye You and them returned, the elders were all sitting in the anteroom drinking tea. Upon seeing him enter, they all looked over.

Last night, Academy Master Ge had heard some astonishing things from his son’s mouth and so had a bellyful of words he wanted to ask Sir Xiao. Thus, he took the initiative to greet the person with, “Sir Xiao didn’t return last night? Have you eaten yet?”

Ye You said, “I already ate.”

He found a place to sit and looked at Pavilion Master Ding. “I heard that Elder Madam Ding’s health is unwell?”

Pavilion Master Ding made a cold sound of acknowledgment.

“The older one gets, the easier it is to become ill. Elder Madam Ding managing to live such a leisurely life for so many years is a precious thing, so you need to be even more careful,” Ye You said, “Senior Brother, remember to send someone to look in on her.”

Wenren Heng said, “I’ll arrange for it in a bit.” Pavilion Master Ding’s expression turned slightly cold.

These elders were all experienced Jianghu men and immediately sensed something wrong in these words.

They looked at Sir Xiao and Pavilion Master Ding. A few of them thought of last night, when Pavilion Master Ding had fallen into the water with Sir Xiao right nearby and how Sir Xiao had later been taken away by Wenren Heng, and guessed that the matters last night weren’t as simple as a case of absent-mindedness.

The Wang family head, Academy Master Ge, and Junior Academy Master Ge knew insider information, and the latter two couldn’t help but nervously hold their breaths, while the Wang family head, feeling a desire for vengeance against the white piece, added a, “I’ll also send someone to look in on her, as a small show of my good intentions.” The remaining sect masters weren’t clear on what was happening and could only go with the flow, one after the other indicating that they were also going to visit.

Pavilion Master Ding said, “No need. It’s only a small illness of no consequence.”

“She’s already sick to the point she wants to see her grandson, so how could it just be a small illness?” Ye You said, “Because of the chess game, Pavilion Master Ding isn’t able to go home, so I feel extremely guilty. Even if other people don’t go, me and Senior Brother definitely have to.”

Those elders thought, Sir Xiao and Wenren Heng are the black piece, so this is certainly a reasonable and fair thing for them to say.

But why does it still feel as if something isn’t quite right, almost as if they’re about to fight to the death?

Those sect masters who had sensed the anger in the air didn’t open their mouths again, quietly watching for any sudden developments. Abbot Ciyuan and Sect Leader Xuanyang looked at one another and then hesitantly looked at these two people, somewhat unsure what to ask.

The hand Pavilion Master Ding was using to hold the teacup tightened imperceptibly, and he especially wanted to slaughter the two people in front of him, but he hadn’t actually lost his reasoning. In his heart, he guessed at these two’s intentions, internally wondering had they decided to expose everything directly? But they didn’t have any evidence.

Abbot Ciyuan spoke, “How’s Benefactor Xiao’s health? Why not go back to the room to rest?”

“My apologies for concerning the Abbot with my troubles. This young one has felt all right these past few days, and since matters have progressed to this degree and this young one sees that his revenge is about to be fulfilled, his mood has been even better,” Ye You said, “Let’s speak of proper business. Everyone has seen the letters that the second young master brought yesterday, and Academy Master Ge even said that that wasn’t the Alliance Leader’s handwriting, isn’t that right?”

Academy Master Ge immediately guessed the other’s intentions and felt a layer of cold sweat begin to drip from his forehead. He especially wanted to tell this person that one couldn’t prove Pavilion Master Ding’s guilt with only a letter or two, but before he could even give the other a meaningful look, he remembered how clever Sir Xiao was and that the person perhaps had a follow-up move.

He thus said, “It didn’t look like it, but we can’t forgo the possibility that the Alliance Leader purposely disguised his handwriting.”

Ye You said, “What do the elders think?”

Academy Master Ge was the Academy Master of Dingtian Academy, so his appraisal of people’s handwriting was naturally more credible than everyone else’s. Thus, those elders naturally didn’t have any objections. Sect Master Han asked, “Could Sir Xiao have some other thoughts?”

Ye You said, “I don’t think the letters were written by the Alliance Leader. Elders, think about it. The Alliance Leader is the monster’s retainer, so while others might call him ‘monster’, the Alliance Leader wouldn’t.”

Those elders nodded, internally thinking that’s right.

Pavilion Master Ding said coldly, “It’s also possible that the letters weren’t referring to that monster and was referring to another monster who had appeared in Jianghu at the time.”

Ye You laughed and asked, “Since Pavilion Master Ding seems so clear about this, you couldn’t have been the one to write those letters, right?”

These words shocked people to the point that their spirits were almost scared out of their bodies.

The elders suddenly looked at these two people, thoughts flying through their heads. Sir Xiao was the black piece, and the moment he entered, he seemed to take issue with Pavilion Master Ding. Could it be that Pavilion Master Ding also had problems?

Pavilion Master Ding’s expression turned even colder. “What nonsense are you saying? I’m simply making an analysis.”

Ye You said, “All right, then please help this young one analyze a bit more, elder. Manor Lord Wei and the Alliance Leader have been partners for this many years, and they even had that many drugged men in their hands, so why haven’t they made a move against you in these twenty years? If I was them, by framing and pushing the blame on you a few times, you’d long already be finished. Why would they allow your Lingjian Pavilion to become as big as Fengxian Manor?”

He paused slightly. “Speaking of which, that year, both you and Manor Lord Wei seem to have slowly grown big after the ‘Demon Slaughter’ incident.”

There weren’t many fools present at the scene, and immediately there was someone who couldn’t sit still. “What does Sir Xiao mean by this?”

“He wants to say that me and that fatty surnamed Wei are partners,” Pavilion Master Ding said, “A few days ago, he set a trap for that monster, and the other party’s subordinates arrived very quickly, so he thinks that the fatty had contacted me alone before he left and that it was definitely me who passed on the news in order to help that fatty. Yesterday night, we also started arguing because of this.”

“This…” those elders said, “This also isn’t definite. It could be that Manor Lord Wei had make arrangements ahead of time, or he reconvened with his subordinates on the road.”

Ye You laughed. “Ding Yicheng, you’re definitely thinking that, if I had evidence, I would’ve already exposed you when Wei Haide left, and that I wouldn’t wait until now, so you chose to send away only Ding Xilai yesterday and decided to remain behind yourself, isn’t that right?”

This time, he decided simply to call Pavilion Master Ding and Manor Lord Wei by their names, a very clear act of rudeness. Those elders didn’t interrupt again and quietly watched.

Ye You looked at Pavilion Master Ding. “You believe too much in your own infallibility.”

Xie Junming’s smile gradually deepened.

He could tell that Ah-You had decided to go against that surnamed Ding, but he hadn’t thought that the other would actually be this straightforward. What exactly is this person planning to do?

He couldn’t help but look at the Wenren Heng beside him. Upon seeing that the other was looking outside, he also looked over, immediately seeing a familiar silhouette. It was Wei Jin, cutting an extremely sorry figure, scurrying in from the outside. “Pavilion Master!”

Pavilion Master Ding’s face was currently covered with a layer of frost, and he was considering whether or not Ah-Xiao and them had information to use against him. At this moment, upon seeing the other, he felt his expression suddenly change. “What happened to you?”

Wei Jin said, “Replying to Pavilion Master, on the road, we met with an ambush, so this subordinate handed the young master over to Xiao-Lu and the others and tried to lure those people away alone.

Later, this subordinate managed to capture one and saw that he had the token of Shuangji Sect on his person and so hastily rushed back.”

“What an extreme deception!” Pavilion Master Ding abruptly stood up, coldly looking at Ah-Xiao and Wenren Heng, and said, in a dark voice, “First it was Xiao-Zhong, then it was Jiangyue, and now it’s Xilai. Did you two want to capture Xilai and force me to take the blame? Was surnamed Wei also forced by you two? Last time, no matter how we asked, he was unwilling to speak the truth. I want to know if this has anything to do with you?”

Ye You said, “You mean did we threaten him? Then how do we explain those two letters?” Pavilion Master Ding said, “That secret book was able to be written eight, nine years ago, so how could forging a letter or two be difficult?”

Ye You said, “Then what about what happened to my master?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “Who saw with their own eyes that so- called small slip of paper?”

Ye You laughed. “So following this, do you then want to say that the Alliance Leader was also forced by me? And that he wasn’t some monster’s retainer?”

“It’s not impossible. You two were also the ones to claim that he was the retainer. If you used Xiao-Zhong’s life to threaten him and gave him a letter telling him to find the monster, he’d definitely go.” Pavilion Master Ding moved forward a step and said coldly, “Tell me right now, where were you those ten years you were missing?”

This back-and-forth truly progressed far too quickly.

Those elders practically weren’t able to follow it, and their thoughts were still stuck on, “did Pavilion Master Ding have problems or not,” and “Sir Xiao and Wenren Heng always wanted to kidnap people.” And, before they knew it, in the next moment, it had become like this.

They suddenly discovered that if they went by Pavilion Master Ding’s words, practically everything would change — after all, the Alliance Leader and Manor Lord Wei both left on their own initiative, and they still didn’t have any solid evidence up to this day.

Pavilion Master Ding looked at the Abbot and the others. “Although I’ve never liked that fatty, I don’t want to accuse a good person wrongly, so since matters are like this, we definitely need to investigate clearly…”

Before those words could even be finished, he felt only a slight breeze at his back.

And because he was too close, he completely didn’t have time to dodge and could only move slightly away. Immediately following, there was only the sound of a ssfft before a knife pierced into this person’s back, entering almost completely.

He hastily turned around and retreated. When he saw clearly who had used the knife, his expression darkened. “You…”

Those elders still had yet to regain their senses, and at this time, upon witnessing this unforeseen event, some couldn’t even control their cries of alarm. As one, they all turned to look at the Wei Jin who had thrown the knife.

Looking at the Pavilion Master’s warped expression, Wei Jin immediately let out a big laugh, throwing off his previous dismal state in one move. His laughter carried traces of egoism and impudence. “What a delight that I’ve finally managed to bear witness to this day! Surnamed Ding, I really ought to thank you for not killing me originally!”

On the side, all smiles, Ye You asked, “Happy?” Wei Jin said, smiling, “Happy.”

Is this really the Wei Jin who always bore that taut face? Has he been possessed?

Those elders looked at him in shock. Sect Leader Xuanyang said, “What exactly is going on?”

Wei Jin was just about to speak when he saw Pavilion Master Ding making to jump outside and so hastily flashed over to block the other. However, Pavilion Master Ding was, after all, one of the two great experts of Jianghu and, even injured, wasn’t to be underestimated. Along with two people from “Moon’s Shadow” following behind, Pavilion Master Ding managed to escape outside during a moment of Wei Jin’s inattention.

The first thing Pavilion Master Ding did was gather all the people from “Moon’s Shadow”.

When those elders had caught up, they saw that the people of “Moon’s Shadow” had already hurried over, encircling him in their protection. Wei Jin stepped down the staircase. “If all of you still recognize me as your captain, then let me through!”

The people of “Moon’s Shadow” slightly startled and, immediately following, heard a colleague say, “He isn’t the Captain! Just now, he attacked the Pavilion Master!”

“I’m your Captain,” Wei Jin said, “What did I tell all of you before? ‘Moon’s Shadow’ represents the righteousness of Jianghu, so all of you need to be able to distinguish right from wrong.”

The people of “Moon’s Shadow” internally thought that this truly was the Captain and began hesitating at once.

Wei Jin said, “This Pavilion Master of ours is one part of the white piece. All of you let me through, stop taking the side of evil.”

He raised his head and gave those elders a look, saying, “I’m a child of the Jiang family. Twenty years ago, that monster brought both Wei and Ding to massacre my entire clan. When Ding Yicheng saw that I was still breathing, he took me back and drugged me, changing my memories and giving me the name Wei Jin.”

This matter was far too overwhelmingly shocking.

Those elders, the people of “Moon’s Shadow”, and the adventurers who had hurried over upon hearing the noise all felt their expressions change. “——What?!”

Wei Jin said, “Six years ago, because of a mishap during a mission, I was poisoned, and the silver lining was that it broke through the drug’s effects. So when I returned to Lingjian Pavilion, I restrained my temperament and acted as a dog for him, all for the sake of this day.” He looked at Pavilion Master Ding, and his voice suddenly turned cold, “Surnamed Ding, if you’re a man, then come out and gratefully accept your death!”

The author has something to say:

Regarding Wei Jin’s matters, see chapter 95. The readers who guessed that Elder Mei is intersex are amazing~ The readers who guessed Wei Jin is Ye You’s accomplice are also amazing~