Chapter Twenty-Eight: Consultations in the Shadows
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Within a secluded residence in Yuan’an Prefecture City.
The Lord Wang who had earlier surrounded Jie Peiling and the two monks from Wuguo Temple at the restaurant stood at the head of the gathering. Sipping his wine, he voiced his troubles.
“The imperial court has sent down word. They say this matter has had an extremely恶劣 influence. You all know that several of the foremost sects in Humming Prefecture have submitted petitions of complaint, and the sects beneath them have followed suit. They want justice for the two personal disciples and the elder of the Broad镇 Sect who died, and demand that the two people from the auction house be captured and publicly executed.”
At that moment, a young man from a small sect founded only recently stepped forward. His face wore an expression even more anguished than Lord Wang’s, and he said mournfully, “Lord Wang, please speak plainly if you require something. If it lies within my abilities, I shall offer everything I have. My Feather Virtue Sect is willing to brave fire and water for this cause!”
Everyone knew why this man, Wang Dechang, had summoned them. Was it not because he had only just arrived and possessed no influence of his own?
Most of those present belonged to the leading families of Yuan’an Prefecture City, and quite a few were members of sects as well. Wang Dechang’s individual strength was indeed considerable, but if he wanted to find someone across the vast territories of Yuan’an or Humming Prefecture, he would still have to rely on them.
After all, each party had its own needs. If they could help, they would; if not, it made no difference to them. Everyone knew what the imperial court was like these days—even ordinary commoners knew. Otherwise, how could the saying “The court is no match for Chu” have spread throughout Yuan’an Prefecture City?
Thus, the most important person present was the younger brother of the Chu Family’s young lord. After being poisoned by the girl from the Flower-Twenty Apothecary, he had endured for seven full days. Had his elder brother not begged his sister-in-law for help, he might well have lost the use of his entire body.
Wang Dechang sighed. “You all know what I intend, so I ask you to assist me—and to lend the court a hand by capturing those two little thieves.”
One of them asked, “What is the background of those two? Judging from the spiritual energy left in the air and the methods by which it was circulated, can we determine which sect they belong to? To kill every member of the Broad镇 Sect without giving them the slightest chance to resist, they should not be unknown figures.”
Wang Dechang shook his head and sighed. “No one knows. It is like the information the Chu Family sealed away last night. The common people have no idea how many of the Chu Family’s guest elders died. Those men were somewhat renowned in Humming Prefecture, yet they could not even put up a fight. Their attacks were ruthless, and their conduct extraordinarily meticulous. There is simply no way to investigate them.”
At that moment, Chu Zhentang, the younger brother of the Chu Family’s young lord who could barely still move under his own power, spoke. No emotion could be heard in his voice, yet everyone sensed the profound chill within it.
“This has happened more than once or twice. It already occurred several years ago. Chen Huzhen, the guest elder of my Chu Family, died by the same methods. At the time, however, the traces showed that the killer had also exhausted himself completely. As for his cultivation now, there is no way to know. But at the very least, unless one is the foremost elder of a small sect, one would not be his match.”
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At that moment, an exceedingly old man could no longer conceal his grief. Each word came from the depths of his anguish.
“Why has such a thing happened? What could they possibly intend? My old friend treated everyone with kindness. Who knows how many people, great and small, throughout Humming Prefecture had received his generosity? And in the end, he died without even a proper resting place! Tragic!”
This man was the Grand Elder Emeritus of the Imperial Cauldron Sect. He had recently come to Yuan’an Prefecture City to visit his native village and had been personally invited by Wang Dechang.
Everyone present was filled with sorrow, and they began speaking on his behalf.
They analyzed the matter from every angle. The attacker was highly skilled in the use of Dao arts and knew a wide variety of them, though that was not what mattered most. The truly terrifying part was his swordsmanship. No one could make sense of those sword techniques, but the height of his sword mastery was unmistakable. They immediately ruled out the younger generation and began examining those in Humming Prefecture who possessed similar characteristics.
“There is, in truth, only one supreme sword sect and Dao sect in this region—and it is nearby, so…”
They did not say it aloud, but their intentions were essentially identical. The Heaven’s Mandate Monastery was simply too powerful. It was the foremost Daoist institution in the entire prefecture. Moreover, the monastery had nearly withdrawn from the world. Even those qualified to become outer disciples possessed extraordinary combat strength. If the culprit truly came from the monastery, then it was entirely possible that someone from the previous generation of today’s young experts could have accomplished such a feat.
When the younger brother of the Chu Family’s young lord heard their analysis, his face went white in an instant. He shuddered and hurriedly retreated to one side.
The others were bewildered. Then they saw a youth in pale-blue robes with a precious sword strapped to his back, and every one of them froze. On his chest was a medallion bearing the words “Heaven’s Mandate.”
The youth slowly rose to his feet. With a ringing clang, the boundless sword qi sealed within its sheath burst forth and spread over the heads of everyone in the residence, as though a razor-sharp blade might descend upon them at any moment.
“Heaven’s Mandate Monastery. Inner disciple. Jingyoutai. Li Zhenji.”
He said nothing more, but from his tone alone they understood that another word might force them into a confrontation with him. No one wished to offend an inner disciple of the Heaven’s Mandate Monastery in full view of everyone, and there was no one present who could stop this man from killing.
Wang Dechang said nothing. He wanted the assistance of the Heaven’s Mandate Monastery, and he was willing to offend nearly everyone present to obtain it.
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Those who had voiced their conjectures earlier could no longer utter a word. They felt the breath of death rising in their hearts, and from that moment onward, their lives were no longer in their own hands.
They regretted everything. Naturally, they believed the fault was not theirs, but that no one had told them a disciple of the Heaven’s Mandate Monastery would appear here. How had that monastery—which almost never allowed its people to venture outside—willingly released one of them?
“As for the specifics of this matter, I neither know nor wish to know. But if the culprit was not a member of the Heaven’s Mandate Monastery, then I shall have to involve myself.”
Li Zhenji’s voice was cold. He looked over everyone present and committed each of their faces to memory.
They trembled uncontrollably. Some did not even have the strength to lift their lips. All they could do was stare foolishly at the youth before them.
Was Li Zhenji’s cultivation truly so high?
There were, in fact, several people present whose realms matched his. Wang Dechang’s cultivation was even higher. Yet the aura Li Zhenji naturally emanated came from within and radiated outward—a pride rooted in his very bones that made them feel ashamed of themselves and instinctively retreat.
The Heaven’s Mandate Monastery had only ten inner disciples in total.
Each of them had received nearly all the resources the monastery could provide. Among the nine from the previous generation, three served as the masters of the monastery’s Three Inner Terraces, while six were the heads of its Six Outer Halls. One of the hall masters was currently occupied with another matter, which was why Xu Yuanming had been appointed to manage that hall temporarily.
In any other sect, the inner sect alone would have more disciples than the entire Heaven’s Mandate Monastery—including its registered and menial disciples. That was precisely why the monastery had been able to remain unrivaled for so long. The quality of its disciples was exceptionally high, and once their cultivation reached a certain level, they would journey to the Pengxuan Grotto-Heaven to pursue enlightenment.
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