Fu Yun was trying to guess who wanted him dead.
Murong Yan specialized in sword techniques, not adept in spells, and she didn’t possess water or wood spiritual roots. She couldn’t have been the first to detect the wood spirit. So who was it?
Xie Yun.
But how could Xie Yun be so sensitive to his wood spirit… These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, yet Fu Yun’s brief silence was noticed by everyone, signaling something unusual.
Just as Xie Lingjun took a step forward, intending to approach, a hand tugged at the hem of his robe. Xie Yun shook his head lightly at him.
They both knew that the spiritual energy on the severed rope indeed belonged to Fu Yun. Pleading for leniency now would be futile; they could only wait for the elders to investigate thoroughly.
Xie Lingjun wasn’t afraid of drawing trouble upon himself. Given his status, he could forcefully protect Fu Yun if he wished. But he revered Taiyi and adhered to its laws, and with Xie Yun advising against it…
Suddenly, Xie Lingjun heard a faint cracking sound from his sleeve. It was his fire spirit growing restless, shattering a piece of glass. The sound was soft, but Xie Lingjun heard it clearly.
The hem of his robe slipped from Xie Yun’s grasp.
Xie Lingjun stepped forward, clasped his hands, and began, “Elders ”
“This disciple does indeed have a conflict with the Hehuan Sect.”
Xie Lingjun’s words were cut off. The speaker was Fu Yun.
The room was filled with shock.
Yet Fu Yun showed no panic. He bowed respectfully and said, “I have incurred a deadly feud with the Hehuan Sect. I beseech the sect for protection!”
He produced a memory-retaining pearl and infused it with spiritual energy. A blurry scene emerged a night where a man cornered Fu Yun at a cliff, speaking arrogantly: “The plaques of the immortal sects are nothing but brothel signs!”
“Two nights ago, this disciple was alone and was ambushed by this Hehuan Sect heretic. The man harbored deep hatred for the immortal sects, vowing to turn me into a human pig. It was clear he had fallen into heresy.”
Fu Yun spoke with conviction: “Yun dared not take it lightly. I fought desperately and killed him, but healing my wounds took too long, which is why I lost contact with the team.”
“If I had left to collude with the Hehuan Sect, why would I have killed the contact?”
The elders examined the memory-retaining pearl and initially judged it to be authentic, falling into deep thought.
“Do you have any other evidence in your storage pouch?”
“None,” Fu Yun replied calmly, glancing at Xie Yun. “But the team leader can testify for me regarding the night I killed the heretic.”
Murong Yan inwardly laughed, finding Fu Yun both pitiful and ridiculous truly a desperate move. But it was Xie Yun who had exposed the wood spirit matter. How could he possibly.
“What Senior Brother Fu said is indeed without flaw,” Xie Yun stated.
Murong Yan: “…”
What act is this? Did I miss some detail? What exactly is the relationship between these two junior brothers?
Little did she know that night had been a chain of killings Fu Yun killed the heretic, and Xie Yun tried to kill Fu Yun.
If Xie Yun hadn’t spoken up, the next memory stone might have recorded him ambushing a fellow disciple.
This flaw seemed foolish, but it was reasonable: that night, Xie Yun had intended to kill and destroy the body. Why would he waste time worrying about a small stone? After all, it would all be burned in the end.
Xie Yun swore to the elders that his senior brother had suffered greatly at the hands of the Hehuan Sect. Murong Yan watched as Xie Yun smiled, then stopped smiling, then smiled again. It sent chills down her spine, leaving her utterly perplexed.
The elders, however, were not so easily appeased. They asked Fu Yun again, “Since you were nearly killed, how did you find the time to record it?”
“It was I who taught him to leave traces after events for future verification.”
A faint shadow slowly coalesced, its features indistinct and devoid of any aura. Yet the elders rose to their feet in unison, pointing their sword tips to the ground and placing fists over their hearts the distinctive sword salute of the Taiyi Sect reserved for revered ones.
“We have disturbed the Master of the Department. We deserve death,” the leading elder said solemnly.
Taiyi Sect had ten departments, among which the Internal Affairs and Disciplinary Divisions were both overseen by a single individual.
The head of these divisions was Kou Yujing.
Though named the Internal Affairs Division, it was in fact entangled in interests with various parties outside the sect. Over the years, successive division heads had either died under mysterious circumstances or been exposed in scandals, with very few managing to retire unscathed.
Yet, over the past century, Kou Yujing had steadily risen through the ranks, earning the deep trust of the sect leader.
The elders exchanged silent messages, weighing the pros and cons
[Why would the division head personally intervene for one person?]
[I almost forgot the year Fu Yun entered the outer sect, the welcoming elder was Kou At that time, the division head was just an ordinary elder. In thirty years, he advanced from the Great Perfection stage to the Nascent Soul stage.]
[What’s wrong with the Internal Affairs Division? Zhao Lin wanted me to block Fu Yun, but the boss wants to protect him?]
[Why bother with Zhao Lin now? We should agree with the division head first!]
The elders quickly reached a decision. The leading elder cleared his throat, his tone now much more conciliatory: “Since the division head vouches for him, we will set this matter aside for now. As for the wood spirit aura. it might have been an error in detection or a frame-up by a malevolent cultivator.”
Thus, the storm subsided quietly. Later, a few guilty disciples were apprehended, but no one spoke of Fu Yun again.
That very night, Murong Yan sent an apology gift a top-grade Nascent Soul Pill. With a few of these, a cultivator might directly achieve the Nascent Soul stage. Fu Yun responded with a smile, accepting it graciously.
He truly held no resentment toward Murong Yan.
Approach when there is profit, depart when it is exhausted this was precisely what Fu Yun was most familiar with. Without sincerity, there was no heartache.
The atmosphere was harmonious and cheerful.
As the spirit vessel returned, Fu Yun dismissed Murong Yan and returned to his cabin, where an uninvited guest had been waiting quietly for some time.
Xie Yun leaned against Fu Yun’s bed, facing a bronze mirror, using Fu Yun’s comb to leisurely groom his curly hair. As for how Xie Yun had entered his cultivation was a full major realm higher than Fu Yun’s.
Xie Yun got straight to the point: “I’ve come to buy something from you, Senior Brother.”
Fu Yun had not handed over the evidence against Xie Yun, and Xie Yun understood what he meant a transaction.
Xie Yun had initially held the bargaining chip of the storage pouch, but with the division head’s intervention, that chip was now useless. However, Fu Yun still held the recording orb of Xie Yun ambushing a fellow disciple.
Fu Yun asked, “Junior Brother, that depends on how much your reputation is worth.”
Xie Yun said, “What if I sell myself?”
Fu Yun immediately turned to leave the room.
Xie Yun said, “There’s another way to calculate it.”
Fu Yun: “Oh?”
Xie Yun said, “Debts are cleared upon death.”
The spirit vessel hung alone in the sky, with two men isolated in the cabin a perfect setting for murder on a dark and windy night.
Ignoring Fu Yun’s grim expression, Xie Yun shifted the topic: “I noticed Xie Lingjun has grown closer to you, Senior Brother. Next month, I’ll accompany him back home. Would you like to come along?”
Xie Yun was trying to win him over. Fu Yun understood immediately. First, he threatened to kill him a stick then dangled the carrot of Xie Lingjun and the Xie family’s influence.
Aligning with Xie Yun would not only turn an enemy into an ally but also make the Xie family Fu Yun’s allies. Over time, it might even be possible to become sworn brothers and equals.
This was an immense temptation for a cultivator of humble origins but great ambition.
Fu Yun’s face appropriately flickered with struggle and calculation, all of which Xie Yun observed, only deepening his smile.
Xie Yun had long considered planting a spy in the Internal Affairs Division.
Coincidentally, Fu Yun was reasonably clever, and Xie Yun was willing to lure him with benefits for that cleverness. He needed many followers loyalty was best, but greed was acceptable, as long as it wasn’t excessive.
The Xie family was already one of the pinnacle aristocratic families. If Fu Yun refused, it would only mean his ambitions were too grand, and he would die that very night.
Even if Xie Yun were to kill a fellow disciple on the spirit vessel, someone would still protect him.
Fu Yun pondered and hesitated, while Xie Yun counted the seconds.
The longer the delay, the more it indicated Fu Yun’s wavering loyalty. Xie Yun’s limit was half a minute. He twirled a strand of hair around his finger, once, twice counting silently in his heart.
On the twenty-third twirl, Xie Yun’s finger became tightly entangled in the hair, the life in it nearly extinguished, and a killing intent emerged.
“I can agree to your terms,” Fu Yun clenched his hand at his side, his face showing unwillingness and gloom, his voice lowered to a whisper. “But I have one more condition.”
Xie Yun loosened his finger, and the strand of hair, nearly severed, spun away. “Go on.”
Fu Yun spoke word by word: “After returning to the sect, whenever our master returns to the sect each month, I want to see him. You will arrange it for me.”
The moment the words “our master” were spoken, the smile etched on Xie Yun’s face melted away.
This was the only time that night his emotions showed through.