Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The other meaning of learning how to shut up was learning how not to reach out one’s hand.
The people of Green Mountain had to learn not to get involved in the affairs of Shenmo Peak, regardless of whether it was the affair of the Gu Clan or that of the Precious-Tree House.
Otherwise, their hands would be broken by Zhuo Rusui like what had happened to Jian Ruyun’s sword.
Looking at Zhuo Rusui on the platform, You Silou sighed before saying, “Even if you don’t think you’re a member of Liangwang Peak, you’re not a disciple of Shenmo Peak either.”
Since he wasn’t a member of Shenmo Peak, there was no point in him fighting so fervently on behalf of Shenmo Peak.
Zhuo Rusui put down the chopsticks, picked up a damp towel and wiped his mouth; but he found the towel a bit cold, so he shot the owner of the Precious-Tree House an indignant look before saying, “Big Brother Nanshan knew exactly what I would do when he asked me to go with Grandmaster Jing Yang.”
“Even though the meeting is interrupted by you two, what will you do when the masters come to the next meeting in person?” inquired Ma Hua, his face showing an indescribable expression.
“If that day comes, we’ll have no choice but to ask the Master White Ghost to show up; in so doing, we can discuss the matter peacefully.”
The person who could state the threatening words in such an amicable manner was none other than Gu Qing.
Ma Hua and the other disciples of Liangwang Peak fell silent again.
In that case, they had to ask the Night Howler to represent them; yet, was it possible for them to ask the dog to fight for them?
The people of Shenmo Peak were the only ones who would use the Principal Guard of Green Mountain to guard their residence and fight for them.
Jian Ruyun stood up, wiped the blood off his face, and retrieved his damaged flying sword. “I’ll kill that sword devil someday,” he said while staring into Zhuo Rusui’s eyes.
“May you succeed in this venture,” said Zhuo Rusui sarcastically and sympathetically.
There was a sudden commotion outside the Precious-Tree House. It seemed that someone was yelling something while kneeling in front of the building.
Ma Hua strained to listen for a moment. The expression on his face changed abruptly, and suddenly he turned toward Gu Qing and Zhuo Rusui.
The Jian Clan and the Ma Clan had seven of their members killed respectively that night; they were either the Cultivation practitioners or the important figures in the clans.
The Jian Clan and the Ma Clan had been suppressed terribly in the last few years and lost many members. They had had the opportunity to turn around only recently and were in the process of recovering; so these people were extremely important for the clans. Unexpectedly, the clans had suffered such a mishap; what should they do?
Ma Hua took a deep inhale before saying in a forced calm tone, “You people dared kill them. It’s too outrageous!”
Jian Ruyun also realized what had happened, his eyes showing a furious expression.
Gu Qing said calmly, “The Gu Clan has lost seven members in the last few days. It’s quite fair that each of your clans has seven dead members.”
Zhuo Rusui stepped off the platform and stood by Gu Qing. “If you don’t think it’s fair, you can kill seven members of the Yuan Clan in Lelong County,” he suggested.
Yuan Qü was a member of the Yuan Clan in Lelong County and a disciple of Shenmo Peak; so it would be fair to do so.
However, the family name of Yuan Qijing was Yuan as well.
“You people have crossed the line.”
You Silou stared at the two of them and said gravely, “No matter who has done it, the masters will want an explanation.”
“We haven’t done it, nor has any member of Scenery Garden. It wasn’t the doing of the Master White Ghost either. It’s because we can’t do such a thing. What I have just said is to incense you.”
Zhuo Rusui took a few steps forward and continued while patting on Ma Hua’s shoulder, “Maybe, it’s a senior master of another sect who has done it because he couldn’t stand the indecent things you people had done.”
Seeing Zhuo Rusui and Gu Qing walk out of the Precious-Tree House, a disciple of Liangwang Peak couldn’t help but exclaim, “How can we just let them go?”
Ma Hua said to You Silou, “I’ve found some clues; I’ll go there to check out.”
You Silou understood what he meant, and reminded him, “You can only punish that culprit, nobody else.”
…
…
The Near-Star Building was the most famous site in Shangzhou City, and the highest building there. It was a site which must be visited by the travelers. Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue had even visited it back in the years.
Yet, they didn’t come to see the Near-Star Building per se; instead, they looked at a nearby restaurant lit brightly while standing on the top floor of the Near-Star Building.
The restaurant was a brothel. The business was as prosperous as thirty years ago, and so it must have a powerful backer.
A man wearing a conical hat walked into the brothel. He received a warm welcome and even the reception of the procuress herself by paying a golden leaf.
The guest with the conical hat didn’t ask for girls, delicious foods and tasty wine after entering the room. He claimed that he was hungry and asked for thirty snow white steamed buns.
All sorts of strange guests would show up at the brothel. As long as this guest with the conical hat was willing to pay generously, the procuress didn’t care whether he would eat thirty steamed buns or spend forty days writing a book. She complied.
The guest with the conical hat paid generously, and his appetite was extraordinary as well. He ate five big steamed buns in a short time and drank half a pot of strong tea.
This procuress looked different from those of other brothels. She was indeed old now; the thick layer of make-up couldn’t conceal the deep wrinkles on her face. To manage such a business at such an age, she must have an outstanding ability. Seeing the guest with the conical hat eat the steamed buns in silence, she displayed a trace of sympathy in her eyes. She poured more tea into his teacup and asked the servant girls to bring three dishes of meats and five dishes of vegetables without obtaining permission from the guest.
Looking at the cheap dishes on the small plates, the guest with the conical hat felt a bit surprised as well as appreciative. “This preserved bean curd in spicy oil looks quite yummy,” he said to the procuress.
The procuress returned with a smile, “It’s said that it is made in a place south of Yizhou City. Many people think it’s delicious, but I can’t taste it because my taste-buds are not working so well now. Do you wish to have two more of it?”
The guest with the conical hat nodded and handed over a handful of gold leaves. “After I’m done with the dinner, I’ll take a nap. I might have to disturb you when I get my energy back.”
The procuress took the gold leaves in a composed manner. “I’ll let you take a rest then,” said she while getting up.
It didn’t take long before the preserved bean curds in spicy oil were brought in, which were placed in a plate for fish. The bean curds were piled up as high as a volcanic mountain.
The guest with the conical hat ate the steamed buns with the preserved bean curds, which tasted even more delicious now and reminded him of the days he had spent in the Baotong Zen Temple.
Tong Lu had died a long time ago.
He Zhan was defending White Town against the snow monsters; it was unclear when he might die a terrible death.
Tong Yan had been hiding for many years; maybe he had died at the hands of those people on Shenmo Peak.
He wondered when he would be played by those of Shenmo Peak until he was dead.
A half of the volcanic mountain composed by the preserved bean curds in spicy oil had collapsed, and the thirty steamed buns were gone as well.
The guest with the conical hat filled half a pot with warm tea and took off his boots, conical hat and mask. He lay on the soft bed, starting to rest with his eyes closed.
The dim light of the oil lamp illuminated his greenish face, looking rather eerie.
It was simple enough to kill fourteen people in the Gu Clan and the Ma Clan. Though it was a bit troublesome to deal with those formations, it was still an easy task for him, a talented deviant practitioner.
Su Ziye opened his eyes and sighed while staring at the ceiling.
As the former Young Master of the Mysterious Dark Sect, he used to be ambitious and wanted to achieve something great to contend with the orthodox Cultivation sects. At the very least, he hoped to find a spiritual source for the Mysterious Dark Sect and get out of the predicament of thousands of years…However, he became an assassin, a mailman, and a huntsman for the Green Mountain Sect.
Well, he was actually used neither by the Green Mountain Sect nor by Shenmo Peak; he was used by that person alone.
If he had been resentful about it before, he was quite willing to accept it now. He even felt proud now because that person was none other than the Immortal Jing Yang!
Tong Yan had said that Jing Jiu was on top of him.
To think about it now, it was purely nonsense.
If the Immortal Jing Yang were not on top, who would be?
Su Ziye took out a few pieces of paper and looked at the statements on them that he hadn’t fully comprehended yet, a high hope forming inside his mind.
The feeling was similar to someone seeing a sliver of morning sunlight in a dark night.
The statements on the paper were the prescriptions written by Jing Jiu…no, the Immortal Jing Yang for curing his Pill Poison. They were truly helpful and very effective; the Pill Poison hidden in his bone morrows and inner organs had been slowly forced out and turned into something similar to spiritual energy of heaven and earth, spreading to the rest of his body. The intervals between each bout of Pill Poison suffering had increasingly lengthened, and his Demonic Wheel had almost formed, and his Cultivation state had improved a great deal lately. He believed that neither Zhuo Rusui nor Liu Shisui was his match now.
Thinking of all this, Su Ziye had quickly recovered. He put on the mask and conical hat and called the procuress.
The procuress asked while looking at him with a faint smile, “What kind of fun do you want to have?”
She didn’t ask him if he wanted some girls because she figured that his guest with the conical hat was not an ordinary guest.
Su Ziye said to her with a small smile, “I like you very much, so I won’t kill you.”
The procuress stopped smiling abruptly. She grabbed the warning magic in the sleeve with her right hand, but she didn’t show any fear on her face. “I don’t understand what you mean by that,” she said, unbothered.
Su Ziye said, “Don’t be mistaken. I just want to ask you some questions, and then I’ll do something, but I don’t want anybody to know about it.”
The expression on the procuress’s face turned cold instantly. “I’ll tell you what I can; otherwise, I have to ask you to leave,” she said sharply.
“There was a murder in this brothel about thirty-something years ago; a few guards of the brothel were decapitated by a blood-red flying sword…”
After taking a look at the procuress, Su Ziye continued, “Judging by your age, you should have heard of this case if you have been managing the business all this time.”
The procuress stared into Su Ziye’s eyes, remaining silent for a long time. “Why do you want to investigate this case? What do you want to do?”
Su Ziye said, “I’ve come here to kill some people on behalf of someone…Since it’s still the same brothel, the owner of the place should be the same, right?”
“Yes,” the procuress said while lowering her line of sight slightly. “It happens that the owner is here in the building.”
Su Ziye stared at her eyes quietly, saying, “I guess that you know exactly whom I intend to kill.”
The procuress lifted up her head and pulled the strands of hair on her temples back behind her ears. She looked almost the same as when she was a young girl. “Please follow me,” she said calmly.
…
…
Su Ziye began to kill people.
He started the slaughter from the third floor and moved down to the first floor; and then he did the killing from the front yard to the backyard.
He had almost killed all the guards and caretakers save for the prostitutes and some servants.
The procuress was following him the entire time.
When the owner of the brothel was killed by Su Ziye, the procuress felt relieved at last. Her knees had nearly given out and had almost fallen on the ground if she didn’t prop herself against a tree in the courtyard.
She clutched her chest with tears swimming in her eyes.
Su Ziye took a look at her, knowing that she didn’t cry not because she felt sad but because she felt relieved. “Why?” he asked.
The procuress returned, “Why did you do this?”
“I don’t know. I’ve done what I was asked to do,” replied Su Ziye.
The procuress’s eyes suddenly beamed, asking, “Can you tell me who that person is?”
“No,” said Su Ziye.
The glow in the procuress’s eyes grew dimmer, but it didn’t turn into a deathly ash. Her eyes looked like a deep and tranquil well.
Su Ziye said, “Many people saw you follow me the entire time. I’ll bring you to a place, where you can hide safely. You can use the money you’ve taken today to find another place to live the rest of your life later.”
The procuress turned toward the burning building, remarking grudgingly, “I’m close to fifty years old now, and I’ve lived all my life here. I don’t the rest of a life TO live.”
