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Chapter 19




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Dundundunnn.
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Juan County[1] is one of the south’s small county seats.
The place was neither big nor rich, but the people lived simple and honest lives, and so there have never been any large upheavals. However, in the past few days, the county magistrate had been suffering from an aching head. Ever since a crowd of people from Jianghu arrived in the county, he had been unable to get a good night’s sleep. So afraid was he of something happening that even his dreams were filled with scenes of blood shining upon the sky.
“Why are there more and more people? What exactly are they planning on doing?” The county magistrate’s hair was falling out, strand by strand, as he worried, and black shadows were clearly visible under his eyes. He paced irritably back and forth. “Haven’t you asked around yet!”
“Responding to master, we’ve asked around, ” the servant said, “It’s said that they’re here to search for hidden treasure, and there was also something about a living dragon.”
The county magistrate fumed. “Hidden treasure? Living dragons? Are you an idiot to believe such things!”
The servant acted as agreeably as possible, not daring to actually speak.
The county magistrate also didn’t have any hope that the other could say anything useful and returned to irritably pacing back and forth.
 
At this moment, the Alliance Leader’s party was sitting in Juan County’s best inn.
After the number of people increased, the group’s expressions all turned extremely grave.
It was hard to determine whether this trip was for good or ill, and some of those whom they’ve kept in the dark were being unreasonable, so now their own numbers were small. If something really did happen and that crowd of outsiders was agitated by someone with certain ambitions, they fear that, when the time comes, the situation would get out of control. So after a round of discussion, they decided to first find a place to stay, send some news home, and wait for more of their own people to arrive, so that they’d have some more reliable footing and confidence.
After the news was sent out, the first to arrive were Dingtian Academy and the Wang family’s people. Now, the inn was guarded by them both inside and out, so discussions were very convenient.
The Alliance Leader sat at the head of the table, wrinkling his brows. “What does everyone think?”
Pavilion Master Ding didn’t bother reining in his temper and coldly said, “On that day, there were only a few of us in the study, and the only ones who knew about the cave were also us.”
Manor Lord Wei said, chuckling, “Incredible, old Ding, to start spewing accusations[2] at us the moment you open your mouth. You can’t even be bothered to think. What good would it do for our own people to spread such information outside? Isn’t that right, Alliance Leader?”
“I’m only speaking the truth,” Pavilion Master Ding didn’t even wait for the Alliance Leader to respond and directly interrupted. His tone was ice-cold. “You dare to say that it’s impossible?”
“That’s right, it’s not impossible, but the possibility is incredibly small, unless they absolutely couldn’t stand to see us succeed,” Manor Lord Wei said, “So I think it’s more likely that when we were speaking to our aides or each other, we were overheard by some bystanders. I’ll first speak for myself. These past few days, I’ve spoken only to Jiangyue. I didn’t speak a word to anyone else.”
By his side, the Wei family’s second son, Wei Jiangyue, immediately said, “This young one didn’t say anything to anyone either.”
Academy Master Ge said, “It’s also not me. After all of you left, I never brought up this matter at all. My son always listens to my instructions, so he also wouldn’t dare to say it.”
This Ge family’s father-son pair was originally able to keep this matter with the rare book under wraps for so long, they were certainly capable of keeping quiet, so all those seated easily believed them and turned their attentions to the others. The Wang family head said, “My father and I have said it before, on that day, we had guards watching outside the residence, and no one approached.”
Chen, Han, Dong, Tian also took the initiative to declare their position, and they all proclaimed their innocence.
Seeing them look at him, Wenren Heng said, voice mild, “I’ve discussed it only with my Junior Brother. But I don’t think that has much to do with this situation. If it had truly been overheard by someone else, then they would’ve made a commotion early on in the city of Suzhou; there was no need to wait until now. Other than those of us here, you’ve missed a person.”
The moment these words were said, these people all stared. “Who?”
Academy Master Ge, who had received no end of trouble, was the first to react. “That poisoner!”
“That’s correct,” Wenren Heng said, “If the one who poisoned Elder Wang wasn’t one of us, then he knows about the rare book but not that the book is a fake, so he’d constantly be keeping an eye on Dingtian Academy. A few days ago, Academy Master Ge and Junior Academy Master Ge suddenly left, so he’d definitely suspect that you were going to secretly hide away that book and naturally would follow along to see and so discovered all of us.”
Academy Master Ge said, “And then he thought something was fishy so he spread those rumors?”
Wenren Heng said, “Yes, this also explains why this information was leaked only after we left. And since he didn’t know that we’re going to the bottom of a cliff, he spread some random nonsense instead. Furthermore, if he wants to continue following us, calling more people would allow him to hide more easily. This method is exactly the same as the one with the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison.”
Manor Lord Wei smiled so wide that his eyes closed, covering up all trace of his cold mood. “It looks like the reason why the information could travel so fast is that he’s nearby, and that’s also how he could promptly relay that information to that gang of people from Suzhou. Then, barring any mishaps, he’s probably here in Juan County now.”
Pavilion Master Ding pounded on the table. “Find him!”
The whole reason that the Wang family head was here was to find that scoundrel who poisoned his dad, so he immediately voiced his agreement.
The others were also stirred up, but how exactly to find that person was the issue. In the city of Suzhou, they’ve already considered many methods, but they weren’t even able to catch a glimpse of the other’s shadow. He was hiding in a pile of people, making it very difficult.
Academy Master Ge had a deep impression of Sir Xiao, so he couldn’t help asking the other.
“I still haven’t thought of a way to catch that person yet, but I have another thought.” Ye You looked at them. “Have any of you ever thought about the possibility that the poisoner and the one who placed the book are the same person?”
Immediately, everyone collectively turned to look at him. Academy Master Ge asked, “Then what is he doing trying to steal it back?”
Ye You smiled and said, “What if he doesn’t want to steal it back and is merely pretending? And his real aim is to incite us to associate with Dingtian Academy?”
Academy Master Ge stared. He unconsciously wanted to ask why that person didn’t just directly reveal that the book was at Dingtian Academy, but the moment he was about to speak, he realized that if the person had really done so, everyone would definitely exhaust all their resources trying to steal such a thing. No one would listen to his explanation that the book was fake, and there would be even less time to investigate the secrets contained within.
He swallowed back what he wanted to ask.
Ye You continued with, “You[3] also said that right after the Junior Academy Master found the book, the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison appeared. Isn’t it too coincidental? I thought about it. If the one who placed the book was still alive, he’d have waited this many years, so seeing the book finally get picked up, he’d probably want to let people see the chess pieces he’s so carefully arranged over these years. Since both Pursued Until Scattered and the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison were matters from twenty years ago, he’d naturally be able to use Pursued Until Scattered as bait. Since he had the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, others wouldn’t be too suspicious.”
“This is actually…” Academy Master Ge followed his words and thought for a while before asking, “Then what does he mean to do by calling this many people?”
Ye You said, “There’s definitely some kind of goal. Last time, he lured everyone over to Suzhou, wanting to draw those who saw the piece that is the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison over to the bottom of the cliff. But since we wanted to move secretly, he started spreading rumors. Of course, it can also be that this young one is overthinking it. But, regardless of whether or not it’s the same person, what Uncle Wei said is right, he’s most likely here in Juan County.”
The group nodded their heads, thinking that what he said had some basis; it definitely was possible.
Ye You laughed. His tone held a hint of admiration. “Able to endure for this many years, and even able to spread such outlandish rumors. If it really is the same person, I’d really like to meet whoever they are.”
The group didn’t have any good feelings at all towards that person, so they pretended they hadn’t heard those words.
Wenren Heng’s heart skipped a beat when he heard.
After the information was leaked, he already realized that that person was within the crowd of people, but after hearing his Junior Brother’s reasoning, he suddenly started feeling that these outrageous rumors felt like the style of the Elders of the Demonic Sect. And most importantly, not long ago, they clearly managed to get into contact with his Junior Brother, so why did they run? And why have they not shown their faces these past few days?
He closed his eyes.
After Ye You finished his reasoning, the place turned quiet. Feeling as if he was still being watched, Ye You slightly inclined his head and ended up meeting eyes with Wei Jiangyue, but in the span of an instant, Wei Jiangyue had turned away.
After analyzing the problem, Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding waited until the others got a hold of their inner turmoil before starting discussions on how to draw out the person in question. However, the situation right now put them at a disadvantage, and so they needed to think of a way to reverse it. At the very least, they needed to stop that scoundrel from secretly using those outsiders to his advantage.
Thus, as one, they turned their attention to the Alliance Leader.
During these times, only the Alliance Leader could go out and take responsibility.
“…” The Alliance Leader seemed to have furrowed his brows so much that his wrinkles have gained a new layer. His mouth pressed into a thin line, and he unhappily gave them a look, having been abused so much that his temper was completely frayed.
This thing was easy to do. He just had to say that the situation was somewhat dire and then explain that he hadn’t wanted too many people to take such risks which was why he kept the matter secret. With the Alliance Leader’s position in Jianghu, the people would certainly believe him.
Those seated were all elders of Jianghu with prestigious reputations, so they decided that they might as well all go together. Wenren Heng, who had no interest in such things, instead brought his Junior Brother back to their room. He poured a cup of tea but didn’t drink it, simply stared at his Junior Brother, lost in thought.
While at Xunliu Manor, his friend Qin Yuemian had once suspected that the accident was purposely manufactured to deliver his Junior Brother to him in order to cause him harm. He had never been worried because of one thing he hadn’t revealed; while he truly did lose his jade pendant, he knew that it was very possible that his Junior Brother had taken it, so he never believed that, “Someone stole his jade pendant and slipped it on his injured, unconscious Junior Brother,” was what happened.
But while he had originally thought that someone did injure his Junior Brother, now he was considering the possibility that his Junior Brother had planned this all along.
If it was really like this, why would his Junior Brother randomly lose his memories?
Besides, eight, nine years ago, he was still in the capital, and his Junior Brother had long left the Central Plains and hadn’t yet set up the Demonic Sect. Where would the money to do such things have come from? Who helped? Could it be that there’s still a person related to this matter secretly hiding somewhere?
Ye You lifted a brow. “What?”
Wenren Heng placed the tea cup in front of the other and tenderly said, “Nothing.”
Ye You looked at him suspiciously.
Unperturbed, Wenren Heng allowed him to look, even opening up a book to read.
 
At this moment, the Alliance Leader and the others had already gathered all of the land’s heroes and carefully explained the situation. In addition, he also observed any suspicious people in an attempt to ferret out the poisoner’s identity.
The Elders of the Demonic Sect were living in the inn across the street and were secretly looking outside through a small slit in the window. After listening for a while, they said, “They’ll probably all go together. There should be enough people, right? We should stop… Where’s Elder Miao?”
“He went out.”
“What does he want to do now?”
Elder Mei put down her mirror and faintly said, “That place has not only a living dragon but also the eggs of that dragon. Eating one will make you the heir to the throne of Heaven. The future of sitting on the Jade Emperor’s throne[4] is waiting right around the corner.”
“…I already think the idea of a living dragon is unbelievable. How could he think of something even more unbelievable?”
“It’s too fake. Quick, hurry and call him back. Baili, let’s go, what’re you thinking?”
“I’m thinking of these strips of paper.” Elder Baili was holding the brocade bag that the Sect Master left behind. “The first one says to pretend not to recognize him, and we did that. The second one says that when we see that they’re going in the direction of Qimu[5] Mountain, we should make up something about them searching for Pursued Until Scattered along with some other things to call over all the people from Jianghu, and we also did that. And following that is this third thing. Who is going to do it?”
The group, “…”
After a moment of deathly stillness, they threw down the words, “Let’s go find Elder Miao,” and, with each fighting to outdo the others, fled.
Elder Baili, “…”
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[1] 居安縣 Not an actual place, from what I can gather.
[2] He specifically says 潑我們一盆髒水 lit. “splashing a pot of dirty water on us”, but it sounded weird when I translated it directly, so I just went with the meaning.
[3] 您 polite “you”. Wow, Ye You knows how to be polite to his elders.<del></del>
[4] 玉皇大帝 So while in Chinese mythology there’s a myriad of gods (神), the Jade Emperor, as the name suggests, is the ruler of all of them. He apparently is destined to be succeeded by someone, but people disagree on whether that has already happened or will happen (in today’s times, at least).
[5] 棲木 lit. (bird) roost/perch.
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Ye You: expertly trolling his own sect elders even with no memories!\n
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