Chapter 11

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[imitates train noises]…

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The crowd of “martial heroes” couldn’t call this person to Fengchun House no matter how they tried.

When Wenren Heng’s warm gaze swept over them, they somehow felt a slight chill, as if they weren’t worthy to be in the presence of this Sect Master whose demeanor was different from ordinary people!

They immediately took their leave.

Since Ye You had played only this one day, he also wanted to go out the next, but instead he ended up being told by his Senior Brother to exercise a bit more restraint. As the incident with the Wang Patriarch hadn’t been resolved yet and they were living at his residence, their going out to play every day was not proper. He looked at his Senior Brother’s expression of disapproval and asked, “Is Fengchun House fun?”

Wenren Heng said, “I’ve heard it was very famous, though I’ve never been.”

Ye You suggested, “Tonight, let’s go visit. Usually these places have a lot of information. Maybe we can find out something about the poisoner.”

For a split second, Wenren Heng had a very complicated expression on his face, unsure of what exactly he should say. After thinking over the words, he ended up patting his Junior Brother’s shoulder. “Fengchun House is a brothel. Inside… there’s no male prostitutes.”

The implication was that going would be of no use, since he liked men.

“…” Ye You said, “Then I will single-mindedly devote myself to searching for information. Senior Brother, you were the one who said that we’re currently living at the Wang family residence, so we should put forth some effort for them.”

Wenren Heng nodded.

Ye You didn’t think that his Senior Brother would agree this easily and was immediately suspicious.

He was just about to confirm the other’s agreement when this person called over one of his subordinates and quietly gave a few sentences of instruction before lapsing into silence.

As expected, when the subordinate left, Wenren Heng turned to him and said, “I already told them to go. They’ll relay any useful information they hear back to us.” He paused and, wanting to stop his Junior Brother from volunteering himself, continued with, “Right now you’ve lost your memory, so you won’t know if what you hear is true or false. Waiting is better.”

Ye You felt like his previously dissipated suspicions were returning in full force. Although he called the other shameless in his heart, he decided to be obedient for the time being. He thought for a bit before saying, “Don’t just let them listen for useful information. Also remember to listen for anything interesting, strange, or novel, and also investigate on the streets for a bit too.”

Wenren Heng was surprised. “You really want to take care of the Wang family’s issues?”

Ye You said, “We’re all living at their house.”

Wenren Heng asked, “Is that the truth?”

Ye You said, “I’ve been idle all this time and finally encountered something interesting.” He paused and looked at his Senior Brother before adding, “And I’m somewhat interested in the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison.”

This time, Wenren Heng was truly surprised and almost couldn’t control his expression.

He had just randomly asked and hadn’t expected that his Junior Brother would answer him sincerely. Who knew he’d be able to hear some honest words from that question.

Wenren Heng was perceptive and after thinking it over, remembered his Junior Brother’s lessened suspicions towards him. Thinking that the other had probably started believing that they truly were Disciple-Brothers, he couldn’t help but remember the face of that beautiful youth from ten years ago who used to always stick by his side and call out for Senior Brother. The thought made the corners of his mouth lift.  He hoped that the man right now could slowly return to being like the youth of that year.

Ye You looked at him. “Senior Brother?”

Wenren Heng answered with a sound and returned to earth. His mood was especially good. “I’ll help you investigate.”

Ye You gave him a few more looks, feeling as if the smile just now wasn’t the same as his Senior Brother’s usual ones, as if the other were exuding some evil intentions.

Wenren Heng had long returned to normal. And after calling a subordinate over to relay his new orders to the others, he went back to dedicating himself to accompanying his Junior Brother.

He was as good as his word and immediately took matters to heart. So that day when the Wang family head sent someone to call him for a discussion, he also brought along his Junior Brother.

The moment they entered the study, both of them felt a certain hostility in the air, and the Wang family head’s smile seemed like it had been frozen rigid on his face. Manor Lord Wei’s bearing remained amiable and friendly, while Pavilion Master Ding’s face was cold, like a sharp, unsheathed blade, looking as if he would chop that fatty into pieces at any moment.

When the two entered, everyone in the room gave them a look. Laughingly waving them over, Manor Lord Wei said, “Xiao-Heng, come and sit.”

At one glance, Wenren Heng knew that Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding had once again fought for whatever reason and was not in the least surprised. As if all was well, he and his Junior Brother walked over. The Wang family head let out a sigh of relief in his heart. He was just about to grab the opportunity to change the subject when he heard his servant come to announce that the Alliance Leader had arrived.

His spirit was roused, and he immediately went out to welcome the man.

Previously, the Alliance Leader had other matters to take care of, and it was only now that he was able to rush over after traveling day and night.

He looked to be older than both Wei and Ding by a few years. And perhaps because he was always furrowing his brows out of habit, the wrinkles on his forehead were deep. When he entered, he suddenly realized that he had ended up between Wei and Ding and so immediately chose a seat so as to be as far away as possible from those two fighting cocks.

He said, “I heard as I was coming over. The poisoner left an announcement?”

The Wang family head said, “Yes, over the past two days, I’ve sent people to search throughout the city, but they’ve not had any luck.”

“I think it’s the city of Suzhou that’s too big, and since the criminal has been mixed in with the common folk, it’s easy to hide people,” Dingtian Academy’s Academy Master Ge said, “I think it’s better like this. The Wang family has another residence that is much smaller and more remote. Let’s all accompany Brother Wang to this other residence and stand guard there. If the other party has any further movements, it’ll be easier to find them.”

“That is one method…” The Alliance Leader hesitantly looked at the Wang family head. “You should still be the one to decide this matter.”

The Wang family head was silent for a while before shaking his head. “Uncle Ge, we can’t do this. If we actually moved him, others will definitely think we have a guilty conscience. Even if we have a reason, it won’t be clearly conveyed. Our Wang family can’t be bound by fear of one person.”

Academy Master Ge was briefly stumped. “That’s true, I was thinking too simply, only considering how to catch the person faster… Ah, that’s right, when we catch this person, the truth will come out, and others won’t be so quick to gossip anymore, right?

“This…” This time, the Wang family head wasn’t able to refuse with certainty, so he turned to look in the direction of the Alliance Leader.

“There’s too much risk involved,” Pavilion Master Ding said frankly. Coldly, he returned the question with, “What if the poisoner never comes out because they see that the situation isn’t in their favor? Or what if the poisoner ignores us and continues to post announcements in Suzhou? How do we take care of it then?”

Academy Master Ge was at a loss for words. That reasoning did make sense, so he decided to stop bringing up random ideas.

Right now, the current information that’s available was too little. The others also didn’t have any good ideas. The Alliance Leader looked at Wei and Ding and said, “Do you two have any ideas? Were there any mistakes made during the ‘Demon Slaughter’ that year?”

“No, there weren’t. That year, we very clearly saw that monster breathe his last, and many others also saw the same. It’s impossible for him to still be alive,” Manor Lord Wei said, “That monster worked alone, and he was so focused on his martial arts that he probably had no confidantes. There’s very little chance that he had a successor. And even if there was a successor, they wouldn’t seek revenge against Elder Wang; they’re more likely to seek revenge against me, since I was the one who personally…”

Pavilion Master Ding gave him a look that chilled to the bone.

Manor Lord Wei chuckled. As if saying that he would not deign to lower himself to the other’s level, he corrected, “It was me and Pavilion Master Ding’s men who killed that villain. Elder Wang simply participated in the Demon Slaughter. So these past few days we’ve discussed it and decided that this current matter is probably not related to the things that happened that year, unless during that time, there was something that happened that we didn’t know about.”

“Yes, let’s begin from why only Elder Wang was poisoned,” the Alliance Leader said before looking at the Wang family head again and inquiring whether the Wang family had any enemies. The Wang family head had already been thinking of this since after the incident, and yet he still did not have any ideas and could only shake his head.

The Alliance Leader asked, “Did you already ask Elder Wang?”

The Wang family head said, “Already asked. My father also couldn’t think of anyone who would act against him.”

The Alliance Leader frowned. “Then the only thing we can do is wait for the other party to make their next move.”

That was precisely what the Wang family head feared, that the other party would again smear his dad’s good name. This was why he had so impatiently called everyone together to think of a plan to catch the culprit. But looking at the situation now, it seemed that was impossible.

He was extremely anxious in his heart, but he knew that the primary reason behind the current circumstances was that their Wang family wasn’t able to provide much useful information. His lips trembled, but in the end, the only thing he could do was agree with the Alliance Leader’s decision. After, he called over his steward and earnestly exhorted him to keep his eyes open for the next while so as to not let anything else go wrong.

The steward made a sound in acknowledgement and left to relay the orders.

 

The Elders of the Demonic Sect were currently huddled together not far from the gates of the Wang family residence.

That day, everyone unanimously vetoed Elder Miao’s suggestion, but this Elder Miao liked using an extremely proper tone to speak of extremely terrifying things. For instance, what if the Sect Master was currently waiting for rescue, or perhaps the Sect Master’s identity had been seen through and so he had been locked up and beaten, or perhaps someone thought he was good looking and so sold him to the Imperial Palace after castrating him, or maybe even perhaps Old Wang was really a pervert and liked assaulting people.

The others really couldn’t stand it anymore. Seeing that Elder Miao was really determined to try selling himself just to test it out, the others made it even easier for him and helped tear his clothes into strips. They kept watch as he walked over and, as expected, was immediately turned away.

They saw that Elder Miao’s face was entirely blank as he returned, and they didn’t speak a word.

Elder Miao looked at them and also didn’t speak a word.

After a brief silence, Elder Miao said, “I still have an idea. I’ll dress as a Buddhist monk and say that the house contains some evil energy and that I can also try and help disperse the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison.”

The group, “…”

Elder Miao was true to his words; what he said he’s willing to do, he’s willing to do. So after changing his expression and his clothes, he once again set out in the direction of the Wang family residence. It was at this time that the steward was conveniently relaying the new orders to the gate guards and heard that there was a person who wanted to sell his body. The steward’s mind was more shrewd than these guards and so he immediately told them to arrest anyone who comes before the gates before doing anything else.

At that very moment, Elder Miao was still walking towards the gates while the others were still huddled in a corner watching him.

“I really don’t think this idea will work.”

“I agree, but when Miao Wang has his heart set on something, no matter how many people say otherwise, he won’t be deterred. The only one he listens to is the Sect Master, and even now, he’s doing all this because of how worried he is about the Sect Master.”

“No, this isn’t the most important point. The important thing is that if Miao Wang doesn’t achieve his goal, with his unrelenting attitude, he might run out of patience and start setting poisonous insects[1] everywhere. And if others find out, then the incident with Elder Wang will be blamed on our Demonic Sect, and we wouldn’t be able to escape.”

“Yes…”

The scene was deathly still for a moment. In the next, the keen-eyed Elder Mei noticed that the gate guards’ expressions weren’t quite right and immediately informed them.

Without another word, the group rushed forward and grabbed Elder Miao. “Heavenly Teacher[2], we finally found you! The method from last time was extremely effective! Our Master is begging you to do the same thing once again! Let’s go!”

The group carried Elder Miao and, with a rumble and a roar, ran off.

Elder Miao, “…”

The guards who had been preparing to arrest the man, “…”

The dust billowed through the air and took a long while to settle again. The two guards looked at one another in dismay.

“Then that really was a monk? He said that there was an evil energy about the household, and truth be told, I also thought that recently there was something…”

“Yes. How do we get the monk to return? Or should we buy some talismans?”

“Let’s buy talismans!”

One of the guards left to search for the man but even after half a day, could not find him. Even the surrounding people said they had never seen him. He then finally started thinking that something wasn’t right and hurriedly returned to tell the steward. The steward told the family head. And the Wang family head called over the Alliance Leader and the others. They then opened up another round of discussion before realizing that they had no detailed descriptions. In the end, they approximated the appearance, before sticking up posters throughout the city.

Elder Mei tore one and brought it home, throwing it at Elder Miao. “What Heavenly Teacher? We’ve been here only two days and the entire city is out to arrest you!”

Elder Miao immediately became silent.

 

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Neither the poisoner nor the suspicious people at the gates ever reappeared. Ye You had spent the past few days reading strips of paper filled with various interesting things gathered from throughout the city, and he thoughtfully closed his eyes.

Wenren Heng took away the papers and waited for the other to return to himself. As it has already been five days since he started drinking the medicine, Wenren Heng took the man to see Miracle Doctor Ji to take his pulse.

Miracle Doctor Ji was also present this day, and when he saw them come in, he had Ye You sit down. As he hit his wrist, he faintly furrowed his brows.

He had been a doctor for so many years, yet he rarely ever furrowed his brows. Wenren Heng’s heart immediately rose.

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[1] 蠱 This was briefly mentioned in chapter 1. Elder Miao researches a specific type of poisonous insects known as 蠱 (gǔ) which is where a bunch of venomous creatures are sealed into a jar and are made to devour each other, with the last one remaining purportedly being the one with the most concentrated poison. There’s a wikipedia page on it.

[2] 天師 A respectful way to refer to monks/priests. I wasn’t sure if there’s an accepted translation of it, so I just directly translated it. The following lines also use 天師, but since I found it kind of unwieldy in that context, I just directly translated it to “monk” instead.

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The beginning bits of this were kind of a pain to translate, but the last parts made up for it. These sect members are willing to go the distance for their sect master! I’m rooting for them, as misguided as their ideas are!\n

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