“What kind of person is this? Why is his blood…” Qiu Yutong wrinkled his brow and looked at the wounded man in black on the ground with some doubt in his mind.
The man in black was a middle-aged man with a waxy, puffy face, and at this moment, his bloodshot eyes were glaring at Qiu Yutong. He struggled, squirming twice with some effort before he finally stopped moving.
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a moment, took a few steps forward and bent down to look.
Xiao Wu’s sword was extremely powerful, so to speak.
The man in black who had attacked Qiu Yutong was pinned to the ground, but under the cold moonlight, what gushed out from beneath his body was not warm, bright red blood, but a dark, sticky liquid that looked very disgusting.
Gradually, a layer of slippery, oily scales appeared on the black-clothed man’s waxy, puffy face, and his turning-white eyes flushed with a layer of greenish-grey, which looked very creepy.
Qiu Yutong reached out his hand to touch the black liquid when Xiao Wu said sternly, “Don’t move!”
Qiu Yutong froze, his hand paused, and at that moment, the flesh and blood on the man in black’s face suddenly peeled off in large chunks, turning into a foul-smelling, sticky black water that gradually merged into the mud.
In a few moments, only a set of sticky clothes and a small puddle of rotten, unmelted black flesh remained on the ground.
Qiu Yutong felt vague nausea in his throat as he stared at the foul-smelling puddle of flesh and blood and could not help but cover his mouth as Xiao Wu grabbed his hand, whispering, “Don’t look.”
“Is this a devil creature?” Qiu Yutong muttered as he barely managed to resist the urge to vomit.
Xiao Wu nodded, “It’s called a Black Drought Demon, a low-level devil creature that can take human form. I don’t know how it got here.”
“A Black Drought Demon? A low-level devil creature?” Qiu Yutong’s mind was in turmoil; this was what a low-level demon looked like when it died? How did this low-level demon appear in Yongzhou City? And how could it suddenly attack him from behind? And Xiao Wu, who the hell is he…?
Thinking of this, Qiu Yutong turned around violently and pointed the withered branch in his hand straight at Xiao Wu’s throat, “Who the hell are you? Did you come to this garden to make an appointment with this devil creature? Are you in cahoots?”
Although he had only a withered branch in his hand, everybody under the heavens knew that the withered branch in the hand of the Feilai Peak Master was more terrifying than any sharp sword.
Xiao Wu didn’t retreat, but pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, “If I were in cahoots with him, how could I have killed him?”
Qiu Yutong stared at him warily, the dead branch in his hand motionless.
Xiao Wu sighed and explained again, “I had been unable to sleep. In the middle of the night, I heard a very strange sound coming from outside, like someone blowing an ocarina, or someone crying. I thought it was very odd, but I was worried that I had heard it wrong, so I didn’t wake you up and just came over to have a look myself. Who knew that Peak Master Qiu would follow… just now, I saw this thing sneak up on you from behind and killed it.”
“How come I didn’t hear that voice you mentioned?”
“That voice only sounded for a moment, perhaps Peak Master Qiu woke up when it had stopped,” Xiao Wu looked very sincere and a little helpless.
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a long time and finally slowly put down the dead branch in his hand, his mind still in turmoil.
“Don’t think about it, let’s go back,” Xiao Wu said softly.
Qiu Yutong thought for a while, still clueless, and could only nod, “En. “
After they returned to the inn, Qiu Yutong thought about it and went to Xie Wanting’s room and told him the whole story, but for some reason, he omitted the part about him following Xiao Wu.
After listening carefully, Xie Wanting pondered for a moment before saying, “Devils don’t usually appear alone, so perhaps there are already many of them in Yongzhou City.”
Qiu Yutong nodded and said, “That does seem to be the case.”
Xie Wanting paused and added, “You said earlier that you and that Xiao Wu, were there together?”
“En, he woke me up in the middle of the night, saying that he heard some strange noises, so I went with him to that deserted garden and ended up in an attack,” Qiu Yutong spoke with increasing guilt, and even his voice became quieter.
Xie Wanting gave him a look, “Really?”
**Qiu Yutong said reluctantly, “…really.”
Xie Wanting didn’t say anything else, just said lightly, “I know, go back and rest.”
Qiu Yutong was not very good at lying, especially not in front of his senior brothers, so now that he had openly lied in front of his eldest senior brother, he was somewhat guilt-ridden.
Xiao Wu was standing quietly at the window, staring out into the darkness of the night, and for some reason, Qiu Yutong thought he looked lonely.
Xiao Wu seemed to hear a noise behind him and turned back, looking very calm, “Peak Master Qiu, have you told Sect Leader Xie everything? Is he going to contact the Immortal Alliance Guild Hall in Yongzhou City and search the whole city carefully to see if there are any other devil creatures? Or …have me arrested?”
Qiu Yutong froze, and then coughed lightly, “Senior Brother didn’t say anything.”
Xiao Wu raised an eyebrow, “According to Sect Leader Xie’s cautious style, he would have had you arrest and interrogate me, if not search the whole city. He didn’t say anything?” Xiao Wu
Qiu Yutong was a little embarrassed: “I …told Sect Leader Xie that it was you who woke me up and we went to the garden together.”
“Why did you say that? It was obvious that I left alone, and you followed me there,” Xiao Wu stared at him.
Qiu Yutong was silent for a moment, surprisingly unable to answer.
Why had he lied to his senior brother? Perhaps, because Xiao Wu had saved his life; perhaps, because he trusted Xiao Wu; perhaps, he felt no need to make a big deal out of it. …Perhaps, because he knew very well in his heart that if he told the truth, Xiao Wu would be hunted down and killed indiscriminately by the righteous path, just like his little disciple back then, no matter what kind of person he really was.
After a long time, Qiu Yutong said, “The fact that you did not run away even though you knew I had gone to look for my senior brother shows that you have no guilt in your heart and shouldn’t be blamed.”
Xiao Wu looked at him for a moment, his eyes dark and heavy, unable to tell what emotions he was feeling.
Qiu Yutong looked at the other man suspiciously, and Xiao Wu suddenly sighed, “I really don’t understand, you really …never mind, it’s still early, let’s sleep a little longer.”
……
Because of the appearance of devils in Yongzhou City, North Snow City had stepped up its vigilance, but nothing happened. Xie Wanting instructed Xu Dongqing and Yang Ruoyu to go to the Immortal Alliance Guild Hall to ask for information, but they didn’t find anything important, just incomplete information.
Unknowingly, the weather was getting warmer, and it was finally the Qingming Festival.
Early that morning, the group packed up and prepared to go up to Fudo Mountain to visit Nanshan Temple. It was two days before the Immortal Alliance Conference, and since North Snow City and Nanshan Temple had always been close friends, it was a good idea to go up to the mountain first so that they could rest and prepare for the Conference.
Futu Mountain was located just 20 miles outside of Yongzhou City, and unlike the cold and austere Canglong Snow Mountain, Futu Mountain was a picturesque scenery, with pines and cypresses, streams trickling everywhere, and yellow warblers crying.
After walking for a long time, Yang Ruo Yu suddenly gave a cheerful cry, “Nanshan Temple is up ahead!”
The crowd looked up and saw a section of yellow-tiled and red-walled buildings hidden by pines and cypresses. Sang Lingxi couldn’t help but rejoice, “Finally, we’re here.”
“Amitabha Buddha.” With a long Buddhist trumpet, Master Qingci, with a few knowledgeable monks, greeted him from a distance along a brick path in the forest, “Sect Leader Xie, forgive this poor monk for not coming out to welcome you.”
Xie Wanting laughed, “What does Master Qingci mean by that? It is clearly this one surnamed Xie who has disturbed you.”
“Sect Leader Xie, this way please,” Qingci folded his hands and turned sideways to lead the way.
After the murder of Master Wuchen, the responsibility of the abbot of Nanshan Temple fell onto the shoulders of Master Wuchen’s chief disciple, Qingci. At this moment, he and Xie Wanting were talking in low voices, both of them looking very grave, while the guest monks ushered the rest of the people of North Snow City into the guest room at the back of the temple, and received them very well.
The evening meal was a vegetarian one, and the hosts enjoyed themselves, and after the evening meal, they went back to their rooms to rest. It was still early in the day, so feeling a bit bored, Qiu Yutong told Xiao Wu he was going out and took the Tianzhao Yunhai with him, intending to go to the small bamboo forest behind the temple to practice his sword.
Nanshan Temple was magnificent and large in scale, with an unknown number of courtyards. Qiu Yutong walked along the winding corridors, all the way to the back, and when he passed under the window of a meditation room, he suddenly heard something, and could not help but stop in his tracks.
“Regarding that case back then, I’m sure Sect Leader Xie also had doubts in his mind,” this was Master Qingci’s voice.
Xie Wanting didn’t answer, but nodded, it seems.
Qingci added, “In this case, for the past twenty years, I and little junior Qing Hui have pondered it over and over again, and we all feel that there is no one else but Gui Wuya who could be the murderer.”
Hearing this, Qiu Yutong could not help but be slightly shaken, knowing that what the two men were talking about at this point was the strange murder of Master Wuchen and the theft of the devil core.
The year Master Wuchen was killed, and the devil core was stolen; Gui Wuya discovered the demonic energy in Lu Xiao’s body through his blood-tailed scorpion and Qiu Yutong had to jump down the cold pool after his little disciple himself, which triggered a bunch of things later… It was just that the Master Wuchen case, after so many years, hadn’t yet come to light, which was very strange.
However, according to Qingci, Nanshan Temple seemed to have established that the murderer was Gui Wuya.
Xie Wanting was silent for a long time before speaking slowly, “This is something that I couldn’t figure out even after I returned to North Snow City. At that time, that blood-tailed scorpion, pointed to my fourth little junior’s disciple, but that evil disciple was originally a devil creature to begin with, so naturally, the devil aura within him would be strong… but, whether he is the murderer or not, and where the devil core on Master Wuchen has gone, is not known.”
Qing Ci sneered, “The blood-tailed scorpion was raised by Gui Wuya, so since the devil core wasn’t on anyone else, it was naturally on the one who raised it.”
Qiu Yutong’s heart flinched slightly, Qing Ci wasn’t wrong in saying this.
Xie Wanting said in a deep voice, “Although this is true, there is no evidence after all.”
Qing Ci said, “It is precisely because there is no proof that I want to ask Sect Leader Xie to do me a favour and force Gui Wuya to reveal himself, since refining the devil core, can make one cultivate both the Dao and Devil path. All these years Gui Wuya has been in seclusion, so he must have almost completed his refinement. Hmph, dual cultivation of the righteous and devil path, that naturally means that both spiritual qi and devil qi, can be manipulated.”
Xie Wanting said hesitantly, “Does Master Qingci mean that he wants this one surnamed Xie to force him to use his demonic qi?”
“Yes, that is exactly what this poor monk means.”
“I’m afraid that’s not appropriate,” Xie Wanting’s voice was a little hesitant.
“I also know that Sect Leader Xie is in a difficult position. But this time at the Immortal Alliance Conference, Gui Wuya will definitely go all out to fight for the Order of the Immortal Alliance, and since we are monks, we must not let the Order of the Alliance fall into the hands of such people!”
“Master Qingci’s words are true, but that Gui Wuya is a very skilled swordsman, and he is also skilled in compulsion… “
“Sect Leader Xie, don’t worry, I’ve discussed with my martial uncles and disciples. My martial uncle Wuwen is the number one expert in Nanshan Temple. He will go first and use the Great Soft Cloud Palm to drain most of Gui Wuya’s spiritual power and destroy his Ten Thousand Insect Cauldron. Then Sect Leader Xie will take the stage and use playing a song on the Xiao to aggressively press him, to induce him to go crazy, so that he will have to use his demonic Qi in full view of everyone. That Ghost Crow will no longer be able to hide!”
“This is a very good plan, but this one surnamed Xie still doesn’t think it’s quite right.”
“Sect Leader Xie doesn’t have to reject it. I have discussed this with my martial uncles and brothers. If this time, Sect Leader Xie can help Nanshan Temple to get revenge, then the Leadership of the Immortal Alliance Order will be Sect Leader Xie’s,” Qingci said in one breath, with a very deliberate voice.
“This one surnamed Xie is not greedy for the Leadership position of the Immortal Alliance Order, but this is a matter of great importance, so this one surnamed Xie has to think about it…”
Here, Qiu Yutong had come to his senses.
It turned out that although twenty years had passed since Master Wuchen’s strange death, Nanshan Temple hadn’t let go of it, and Master Wuchen’s chief disciple, Qing Ci, hadn’t let go of it. Moreover, he had long been suspicious of Gui Wuya, so this Immortal Alliance Conference was a trap.
Xie Wanting and Qingci discussed something else in a low voice, but Qiu Yutong didn’t continue to listen, leaving gently instead. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, in fact, with his status, he could have just pushed the door in, but he didn’t it was right.
At this point, he had no desire to practice his sword and simply went back to his guest room.
Xiao Wu was meditating on his couch with his eyes closed. When he heard the noise, he opened his eyes immediately, “Peak Master Qiu, why are you back so soon?”
“Don’t want to practice.” Qiu Yutong sat down, poured a cup of hot tea and held it, and his whole body was a bit dazed.
Xiao Wu looked at him, frowning slightly, “What happened?”
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a long time before he said, “Xiao Wu, have you ever heard of Master Wuchen’s strange death in the Blood Prison Secret Realm?
Xiao Wu was slightly stunned, and then nodded, “Of course I have. What’s wrong?”
“Who do you think the murderer is?”
Xiao Wu mused, “I’m not going to lie to Peak Master Qiu, I once studied the case carefully out of curiosity. In my opinion, the possibilities of the murderer, there are three.”
“Which three?” Qiu Yutong said anxiously.
“The first one, Gui Wuya the thief who cried out thief. The blood-tailed scorpion he bred, certainly wouldn’t have identified him, but if the killer was Gui Wuya, there’s another problem that doesn’t make sense. Nanshan Temple and North Sea Sword Sect don’t get along, and apparently Master Wuchen’s corpse was smiling, defenseless before he died, so if Gui Wuya was the murderer, Master Wuchen should not have looked like that.”
Qiu Yutong nodded and said, “That makes sense. What about the second one?”
Xiao Wu paused, adding, “The second possibility, is one of the masters of Nanshan Temple. I heard that at that time, Gui Wuya’s blood-tailed scorpion didn’t check the people of Nanshan Temple, so in that case, the look on Master Wuchen’s face before he died, could also be explained. After all, the murderer was someone from Nanshan Temple, so he naturally would not have had any defenses.”
“What about the third one?”
“As for the third one…” Xiao Wu paused, not saying anything further, “Forget it, it’s better not to mention it. After all, if it is the third possibility, that person has always been good friends with Master Wuchen hence Master Wuchen naturally wouldn’t have been defensive, but Gui Wuya’s blood-tailed scorpion is also extremely sensitive. Even if that person hid the Devil core elsewhere, as soon as he was careless, that blood-tailed scorpion more than likely would have identified him on the spot… and that’s what I can’t figure out the most.”
