Jianghu Demolition Squad

Martial Arts Competition Under The Heavens (Part Twenty Six)

As soon as Bai Sang left, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Zizhi and Zelan had joined the Xuhuai Valley a few years ago. By the time they joined, Mo Wen was already gone, leaving them largely in the dark about the whole affair, although Zizhi, having joined earlier, had heard some rumors.

Xuhuai Valley was located at the border of Sichuan and the Miaojiang. The disciples in the valley saved lives and helped people, while in the Miaojiang, there was always an undercurrent of people practicing evil Gu sorcery and harming the common people.

One side saved people, while the other harmed them. It was like fire and water, incompatible.

More than a decade ago, various factions under the Gu Emperor of the Miaojiang were engaged in a power struggle, making the situation difficult to control. The Gu Emperor sent a holy maiden to seek help from Xuhuai Valley.

It was hard to judge the Gu Emperor of the Miaojiang as righteous or evil, but his role in suppressing those who practiced Gu sorcery from harming civilians on a large scale could not be ignored. If the Gu Emperor were to die and his power collapsed, those hidden fanatics would be unleashed, inevitably giving rise to a wave of evil where people would be used for Gu experiments. Therefore, Xuan Shen decisively led his disciples to assist.

After quelling the power struggles, the outcome was devastating for all, including Xuhuai Valley which suffered great losses. During this turmoil, Xuan Shen brought back a four or five-year-old girl from Miaojiang.

This girl was peculiar in appearance, with a dark iron collar around her neck attached to a broken chain, resembling a prisoner. She had an enchanting red mark on her forehead, a barely detectable pulse, and she neither spoke nor walked steadily. She seemed completely oblivious and unresponsive to everything around her, like a foolish newborn.

Miaojiang had always sought forbidden techniques, not only using people for Gu experiments but also for Gu cultivation.

One such forbidden method involved implanting a Gu seed in a pregnant woman and feeding it with various medicinal herbs.

When the child was born with the matured Gu seed, they were intrinsically linked, sharing the same essence and life. The child would then be thrown into a pool of thousands of Gu, raised among them. The Gu would become her companions and relatives, capable of mutual communication, and also her sustenance, providing her nourishment.

This forbidden method was only a rumor, and because it was so unimaginable, no one dared to believe it until this girl appeared…

Living Gu, living Gu. Was she human? Or a Gu?

The people in the valley didn’t understand, only knowing that if this thing remained in the valley, it would surely bring disaster.

However, Xuan Shen went against popular opinion and not only took her in but also accepted her as his disciple. He instructed everyone not to inquire about her background or speak lightly of her identity.

Despite this, no one in the valley dared approach her except for Xuan Shen and Bai Sang, who took responsibility for her upbringing.

As the Valley Master, Xuan Shen was busy with various matters and couldn’t spare much time to guide his disciple. Thus, he only accepted this one disciple, who was considered the eldest senior sister among the current generation of disciples in Xuhuai Valley.

This eldest senior sister was a talented prodigy, mastering the arts of acupuncture and medicine with ease, truly a rare talent in the world.

A few years passed quickly, and the sinister forces in the Miaojiang rose again. The jianghu of the Central Plains gathered heroes from all over to launch a campaign against them, and the Xuhuai Valley was naturally included.

In this battle, many stars fell, and Valley Master Xuan Shen was also gravely injured. He passed away not long after. From then on, this eldest senior sister disappeared.

Bai Sang took over as the Valley Master and expelled this person from the Xuhuai Valley and forbidding any disciple from mentioning her.

The newer disciples were unaware of her existence. When Zizhi joined Xuhuai Valley, it was right after the competition of heroes in the Miaojiang and shortly after this person had disappeared. Still, many in the valley spoke of her, so Zizhi had some knowledge of her.

Now, with Bai Sang’s relentless pursuit of Mo Wen, Zizhi understood that Mo Wen was actually Mo Qingyan, the eldest senior sister of their generation.

Although Zizhi and Zelan were curious about the past grudges, they knew it was inappropriate to pry further and couldn’t stay long now that Bai Sang had left.

Zizhi said, “Miss Mo… Wen, we’ve intruded enough. We’ll take our leave now.”

Mo Wen, watching Bai Sang leave, was still fixated on the sword. When Zizhi spoke, she hardly noticed, merely nodding in acknowledgment.

Zizhi bowed to everyone and left, pulling the confused Zelan along.

From a distance, they could still hear Zelan asking, “Senior Sister, is Wooden Face really a disciple of our Xuhuai Valley?”

After the people from the Xuhuai Valley left, the courtyard became unusually quiet, with only the sound of the wind rustling through.

Jun Ruyu tugged at Jun Sixue’s sleeve, signaling it was time to leave. Although they wished to spend more time with Yu’er and learn more, they knew they were still outsiders in the current circumstances and should not impose further. Thus, they also bade farewell, reluctantly leaving the space to those who belonged.

With most of the people gone, only Mo Wen, Yu’er, Yan Li, and Qi Tianzhu remained in the courtyard. Yu’er could see Mo Wen’s dejection and sense the pain she concealed behind her lowered eyes.

After a long while, Mo Wen said, “Hehe, I finally managed to escape.”

Her face couldn’t express much, emitting a laugh that seemed somewhat foolish. Seeing that Mo Wen did not wish to discuss her past grievances with Xuhuai Valley, the three remained silent.

However, they couldn’t ignore the forced nature of her laughter.

Yan Li let out a soft sigh and said, “Silly girl.” Her attempt to appear carefree after such a close call didn’t seem convincing at all.

Mo Wen fell silent. When Yu’er looked at her, she was startled to see that despite her wooden expression, her eyes were already moist, on the verge of tears.

Mo Wen opened her arms and approached Yu’er as if to hug her. When she got closer and saw Yu’er’s pale complexion, she remembered that Yu’er was injured and turned to Yan Li instead, embracing her.

Yan Li stood still, allowing Mo Wen to hold her while gently patting her back and remarking in a flat tone, “Don’t get my robe dirty.”

Qing Jiu and the others had hurried back to the courtyard, where they found only a few people and a sword lying on the ground. It was clear that they had just missed an incident.

Qing Jiu picked up the sword, asking, “Has Valley Master Bai already been here?”

Yan Li sighed, “She left not long ago. There was danger, but it passed.”

Mo Wen left Yan Li’s embrace and called out, “Qing Jiu.” Her voice soft and somewhat aggrieved as she threw herself at Qing Jiu.

Qing Jiu, holding the sword in her hand, nimbly sidestepped, easily dodging Mo Wen.

Mo Wen then bumped into Tang Linzhi. Tang Linzhi, pushing her face away, exclaimed, “Clumsy, get off me, don’t touch me!”

After Bai Sang left, Mo Wen did not return to Wuwei Palace, fearing another encounter with Bai Sang. To prevent Jiang Ying and Wei Ran from worrying, Yan Li decided to return alone.

Yu’er, still suffering from the shock caused by Qin Gui’s zither music, needed to stay at Qixian Palace to recuperate.

It wasn’t appropriate for everyone to stay at someone else’s place, so only Qing Jiu and Mo Wen remained at the Qixian Palace, while the rest returned to Ningqing Garden.

By noon, Yan Beili’s meeting had dispersed. Gong Shang returned from the elegant room. Jie Qianchou and Yun Wangran visited briefly before leaving, chatting as they went.

After noon, the World Martial Arts Competition continued. At this moment, it was the turn of the martial arts elders to compete against each other, a showdown of the peak of martial arts skills, undoubtedly a spectacular sight.

However, Yu’er was no longer interested in watching; her mind couldn’t afford to be clouded with a single speck of dust. The slightest distraction caused a continuous buzzing in her ears and a feeling of suffocation, as if a huge stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe, so she could only clear her thoughts.

Her mind a blank slate, she thought of nothing, simply gazing vacantly at the person beside her.

The autumn wind rustled through the withered leaves and grass in the courtyard. Her robe fluttered, and the two white tassels in her black hair always swayed gently from side to side. Although snowy white, they felt to her like the only spring scenery in the midst of deep autumn, perhaps because of the faint scent of peach blossoms carried on the breeze.

“Yu’er? Yu’er!” she was suddenly brought back to reality.

“What is it?” she responded, dazed.

“Why are you so lost in thought?” Qing Jiu asked.

Yu’er said, “It’s nothing. I was listening. Please continue.”

Qing Jiu laughed, “If you’re tired, go back and rest.”

Yu’er shook her head. As she was about to speak, someone came from outside. Judging by their appearance, they were a disciple of the Mingjian Manor. Upon seeing them, he nodded in greeting and hurried inside.

The two didn’t think much of it, but soon after, the disciple reappeared followed by Gong Shang.

Gong Shang frowned, his expression troubled. As he passed by the two, he said to Qing Jiu, “I’ll be back shortly. If there’s anything urgent, instruct the disciples or wait for my return.”

Following the disciple, Gong Shang then left. Qing Jiu noticed his unusual demeanor and realized something significant must be happening concerning Qixian Palace.

As expected, not long after, Yang Chun came running over.

With agile movements, he landed on the wall, crouching without coming down, his large sleeves nearly covering his legs. Qing Jiu and Yu’er were still in the courtyard when they heard him call out, “Miss Qing Jiu, Miss Yu’er, something has happened.”

Qing Jiu asked, “Yang Chun? What happened?”

Yang Chun glanced towards the house. At this moment, the disciples of the Qixian Palace were practicing in the front courtyard, their music flowing softly and gently.

Yang Chun said, “Mingjian Manor’s guards have been searching for the two missing disciples of Qixian Palace and the disappeared martial artists, right?”

Qing Jiu said, “They found them?”

Yang Chun clicked his tongue, “They did find them, but unfortunately, they’re already dead. They were found in the mountains at noon today, just their corpses.”

Qing Jiu showed no sign of shock, speaking very calmly, “Oh, what else?”

Yang Chun was surprised and said, “How did you know there’s more? Beside those who disappeared from Mingjian Manor, there were also many corpses of jianghu heroes lying nearby, which is quite strange.”

Qing Jiu pondered, “Was it a fight between two groups that resulted in mutual destruction? Who were these people?”

Yang Chun clarified the oddity, “That’s the strange part. Valley Master Bai went to investigate and found that the two Qixian Palace disciples and a few other missing individuals had no external or internal injuries, yet it seemed as if they had been drained of blood. The corpses of the Jianghu heroes found next to them were even stranger—there were about a hundred bodies, too many for Mingjian Manor’s morgue to accommodate. They had to be placed all over the courtyard, which was quite frightening to look at…”

Qing Jiu said, “Get to the point.”

Yang Chun cleared his throat and said, “Valley Master Bai noted that the wounds on those hundred or so bodies were old, indicating that they had been dead for a long time, and…”

Qing Jiu said, “And?”

Yang Chun said, “Some of the bodies have been identified; many were heroes who perished or disappeared during the battle against the Miaojiang Gu practitioners years ago.”

Qing Jiu let out a thoughtful hum.

Yang Chun sighed, “Miss Qing Jiu, don’t you think it’s incredibly odd? Those who died years ago have suddenly appeared in Huxiao Mountain, and although it’s been years, their bodies should have decayed. Yet, I saw that their bodies were very intact. Apart from their skin color being somewhat unspeakable, they looked no different from those who had just died.”

Qing Jiu said, “Hmm, indeed strange. How did Manor Master Yan and the others react?”

Yang Chun hugged his arms, tilted his head back with his eyes closed, thought for a moment, and said, “Manor Master Yan was furious and demanded a thorough investigation. The manor has since increased its guards, securing it as tightly as an iron fortress.”

“Valley Master Bai and her disciples are examining those corpses. Tsk tsk, I must say, I truly admire Valley Master Bai for being a woman and yet remaining unfazed while examining so many corpses, turning them over and inspecting them closely.”

“As for the others who received the news, most of them are taking a wait-and-see approach. I think some speculate that this is a deliberate act targeting the Fenghou Sword, while others guess that it’s the remnants of the Miaojiang from the battle years ago, seeking revenge now that the heroes of jianghu have gathered at the Mingjian Manor. There are also some people who continue with the martial arts competition, waiting to see the sword, minding their own business with carefree attitudes…”

Although Qing Jiu only asked one question, once Yang Chun started talking, he couldn’t stop.

Finally, Yang Chun lowered his voice and said mysteriously, “Miss Qing Jiu, based on my years of experience in jianghu, with so many strange occurrences during this martial arts conference at the Mingjian Manor and everything being manipulated by others, I’m afraid there might be a traitor within the manor.”

Qing Jiu smiled and nodded, “Oh, you’re quite clever.”