Almost as soon as Su Mo returned to his original spot, a group of people appeared at the entrance of the water dungeon. Leading them was a woman wearing a fox mask, possessing a figure that was curvaceous and alluring. Judging by the respectful behavior of the others, this woman had to be the Sect Leader of the Nantian Sect. Although Su Mo could not see her face clearly, he felt an inexplicably strong sense of familiarity emanating from her.
The woman did not look at him but fixed her gaze intently on the madman locked away by his shoulder blades. Seeing that his wounds had been bandaged, she seemed displeased, and her eyes, hidden behind the mask, swept coldly over Su Mo.
“Uh, I saw that his wounds were quite severe. If they were not bandaged, I was afraid they might become infected.” Su Mo, feeling extremely uncomfortable under her scrutiny, scratched his head and offered an awkward explanation.
His instinctive action caused the woman to freeze. After a long moment, she let out a scoff. “Do you even know who he is? With such an overflowing sense of sympathy, are you not afraid of being bitten back? This madman does not recognize a single soul.”
The moment she spoke, Su Mo’s eyes widened. She was so similar. The woman’s voice was incredibly close to that of Ye Lin. A thousand years was too long a time; Su Mo dared not step forward to acknowledge her yet. He still had many questions and points of doubt to clear up, so he decided it was better not to complicate things.
“Take him away. I will interrogate him personally later.” The woman lost interest in Su Mo and waved her hand, signaling the sect disciples to take him away. Su Mo kept looking back as he walked, filled with curiosity.
“Are you looking for death? Daring to meddle in the Sect Leader’s affairs? Keep moving!” A disciple behind him shoved him, urging him forward with irritation.
Su Mo frowned, but he did not hesitate to leave. Through the corner of his eye, he saw the woman pull a long whip from her waist. After channeling her spiritual power into it, she swung it without hesitation toward the madman chained in the water dungeon.
“I will be good, I will be good, Momo, Momo.” The madman convulsed under the lashing, yet his eyes remained fixed on the direction in which Su Mo had left, muttering to himself like a man possessed. His restraint only earned him even more vicious and cruel lashes from the woman.
It was too brutal, too painful to watch. Su Mo dared not look back again and quickened his pace. Had he lingered for even a moment longer, he would have heard words that would have shattered his worldview. He would have learned that the madman he had saved was none other than the once spirited Emperor, Wen Muli.
“Shut up! You are not worthy of calling the Master’s name!” Ye Lin’s eyes were filled with deep hatred, and her strikes became increasingly ruthless. Old wounds on Wen Muli’s body tore open as new ones were added, and the dungeon soon reeked of blood. Only after the man had been whipped into complete unconsciousness did she retract the whip, spitting on him with utter disdain.
“There are not many days left before the full moon, at which point he will succumb entirely to his inner demons. None of you need to guard the dungeon for the next few days to avoid unnecessary personnel losses.” Ye Lin said, exhaling a breath of murky air as she gave instructions to the disciples behind her.
“Sect Leader, what should we do with that fool?” the disciple asked after acknowledging the order.
“Are you certain that he is a fool?” Ye Lin asked with a cold, mocking sneer. The disciple wisely shut his mouth.
“Let us go. Follow me to properly interrogate that fool. I want to see what kind of fortuitous encounter he had to restore his clarity overnight and break through to the Core Formation stage in one fell swoop!” A flash of cunning crossed her eyes as Ye Lin walked out of the dungeon.
“Momo, do not go. I will be good. I beg you, do not go.” Even in his unconscious state, Wen Muli continued to murmur. Alas, not a single person would ever take a madman’s words to heart.
In the Nantian Sect’s reception hall, Su Mo sat anxiously on a chair, waiting for the woman to arrive. About fifteen minutes later, she finally appeared.
“Tell me, why did you kill Elder Hong and his son, and how did you regain your clarity?” The woman sipped her hot tea, her tone languid and lazy.
Su Mo had already prepared his story. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, he began his eager denial. “I did not kill Junior Brother Liyun! It was them who provoked me first. They cornered me while I was sweeping and used scissors to cut off my long hair. I resisted, they beat me, and they chased me all the way into the woods. I tripped over a mound of dirt, took a fall, and suddenly, as if I had been enlightened, I woke up. I did not kill them; I only gave them a beating!”
He intentionally acted a bit foolish, gesturing and speaking with exaggerated excitement.
Did he gain some secret opportunity from that fall? The onlookers were suspicious; it felt like too much of a coincidence. Others might have believed Su Mo’s words, but Ye Lin was a sharp, thousand year old veteran; she would never believe such a one sided account.
“Even if what you say is true, as a fool who knows nothing of cultivation, how did you kill Elder Hong? He was a cultivator at the late stage of Nascent Soul!” Ye Lin stared coldly at him, demanding an answer.
“I, I do not know. I only took a broken sword I had hidden away and stabbed it at him, never expecting to actually kill him. I did not intend to take a life, but if I had not fought back, I would have been the one to die!” Su Mo stammered, unable to provide a better explanation.
“A convenient never expected. I shall see if you truly did not expect it!” Ye Lin scoffed and suddenly whipped her lash toward him. She seemed to be testing him, as it was an empty strike with no spiritual power behind it. Su Mo could not discern her cultivation level, but he knew she was just probing. If she had truly wanted him dead, he would have had no means to fight back.
He feigned terror, raising his hands to block the strike, and used the opportunity to channel the Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppressing Technique. Even though he had only mastered the first layer, it was enough to block this single strike. The Tiangang energy wrapped around him like an eggshell; Ye Lin’s whip hit it, dispersing the energy but failing to harm Su Mo.
The Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppressing Technique! Ye Lin’s eyes widened. She sprang from her chair, rushed to Su Mo’s side, grabbed him by the collar, and demanded, “Who are you exactly!”
“I, I do not know what you are talking about. Let, let me go.” Su Mo had already confirmed her identity, but he continued to play the fool.
Ye Lin gritted her teeth and gathered spiritual power in her palm, striking at him. Su Mo turned pale and squeezed his eyes shut, shielding his head. At the critical moment, Ye Lin forcibly retracted ninety percent of her spiritual power. The impact sent Su Mo flying, while she herself staggered back two steps, vomiting a mouthful of blood due to the backlash of her own energy.
“Sect Leader!” the others shouted in panic.
“Cough, cough, cough. I am fine. It is true, how could you possibly be him? He would never be this weak.” Ye Lin waved a hand to stop them from coming forward, whispering in a daze, her eyes full of disappointment.
“Tell the truth, why do you know the Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppressing Technique? If you dare to withhold even half a truth, I will take your life!” Coughing up more blood, she demanded of Su Mo, who was sitting on the ground, unable to climb back up.
Su Mo hesitated for a long time before finally pulling out the scale. Upon seeing the scale, Ye Lin’s entire body trembled, and tears streamed down her face like a broken dam.