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Chapter 66




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In which Manor Lord Wei has a conversation with his son.
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Manor Lord Wei practically couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you say?”
The tea in front of Wei Jiangyue had long gone cold. He hadn’t drank even a sip since he’d poured it.
He felt as if the myriad emotions in his heart were just like the tea leaves, slowly sinking beneath the surface. He looked at his respected father, who had been proud of him countless times before, and resolutely asked a second time, “Are you the white piece?”
“How could I possibly be the white piece?” Manor Lord Wei was in even more disbelief. “Who told you this? Was it Xiao-Heng or Ah-Xiao?”
Wei Jiangyue had already thought of a pretext and shook his head, saying, “It’s not them. It’s that everyone knows that the white piece is a person of virtue and prestige, and that he’s right in the midst of these people.”
Manor Lord Wei was about to be angered into laughter. “So you started suspecting me?”
“I also don’t want to suspect you.” Since he had asked that first question, Wei Jiangyue felt as if his spirit had separated from his body. His body was numb and cold, yet his spirit continued to push him to move forward.
He heard himself say, extremely calmly, “But you had the opportunity to obtain the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, you were also the one who forced Blood-sucking Ghost off the cliff at the time, and you even have the strength to get involved with Bodhi Prison… Let’s not rush into talking about all this. I know that those other elders also have the means to do these things. First, wait for me to finish.”
The room did not have any lanterns lit, and there was only a small, faint beam of light slanting in through the window lattices. It was dim and quiet, and even the emotions that felt as if they were filling out all the empty spaces seemed able to be suppressed here and now.
Manor Lord Wei looked at him underneath the moonlight and nodded before then going to light a lantern.
The room instantly brightened, and Wei Jiangyue was able to see his father’s face even more clearly.
He thought of all the little details from those past events, and his gaze slightly faltered, though he quickly pressed down that sliver of struggle and continued with, “Yesterday morning, I went to find Sir Xiao and heard him say that the white piece would perhaps surround the mountain. At that time, I wanted to tell you.”
Manor Lord Wei rebuked with, “You should have told me. What would you have done if something really happened?”
“If I told you, you definitely wouldn’t have agreed,” Wei Jiangyue answered, very simply, and then resumed his speech, “Sir Xiao’s martial skill is gone, and so he has no means of self-defense. I thus exchanged identities with him. Wenren Heng also gave me three concealed weapons and thought up a good way for me to retreat so that nothing would happen to me. But this matter was too big, and at the time, I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to succeed only by relying on ourselves. But they said that they weren’t sure who the white piece was, so they had to keep this between themselves. I thought that if there were no longer any suspicions on you, then in the future, if something else happens, I can discuss it with you. So upon confronting Ghost Gentleman, I purposely probed him with a few words.”
Manor Lord Wei asked, “What did you probe with?”
“According to the original plan, I should’ve used Sir Xiao as an excuse to lure them to a previously agreed upon place, and we’d capture them when they took the bait. But I changed a few words on the spot and told him that it was you who said that Sir Xiao was at the small county town.” Wei Jiangyue looked at him. “Father, can you tell me, at a time when things had already turned hostile between our two parties, and Ghost Gentleman already knew the issue with my identity, why he didn’t capture me and use me to threaten all of you? Why did he believe me right after I spoke? And why didn’t he injure me at all? Even easily letting me go?”
Manor Lord Wei asked, “He believed it?”
Wei Jiangyue said, “That’s right.”
Manor Lord Wei said, “Then what exactly did he say?”
Wei Jiangyue stilled for a moment.
Actually, at the time, Ghost Gentleman had replied with only a question and hadn’t said anything more. He also couldn’t tell if the other believed it or not, but because there were other suspicious points, this issue wasn’t that important.
He thereupon said some deceitful words, “He said, ‘I understand.'”
“I understand?” Manor Lord Wei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and asked, “Xiao-Yue, how long have you spent in Jianghu? Even if he says that he understands, you don’t know what he’s actually thinking deep down.”
Wei Jiangyue said, “Then why didn’t he capture me?”
“Why would he want to capture you?” Manor Lord Wei said, “At that time, me and Old Ding had brought people to surround him. Nothing good would’ve happened to him if he remained any longer, and if he brought you along, then he definitely wouldn’t be able to run away.”
Wei Jiangyue said, “He could use me to threaten all of you.”
Manor Lord Wei said, “Previously, he had Miracle Doctor Ji and the others in his hands, yet weren’t the end results the same?”
Wei Jiangyue paused for a moment before asking, “Then why didn’t he injure me?”
“How could I know? Maybe he didn’t have the time, or maybe he realized that you were trying to probe him and purposely misled you in an attempt to make us father-and-son fall out with one another.” Manor Lord Wei saw that he wanted to speak further and waved a hand to interrupt him. “You’ve already asked so much, let me ask you some questions. As everyone says, no one understands the son better than the father, and you couldn’t possibly have started suspecting me without any reason.”
Wei Jiangyue said, “I simply wanted to try probing a bit.
“You think I’d believe that?” Manor Lord Wei said, “Let’s not talk about me. You also know about Xiao-Heng’s temperament. Even if he had personally heard Ghost Gentleman’s words, he wouldn’t so easily believe it. Do you think just by testing out a word or two and going back to tell him the results that he’d believe it?”
Wei Jiangyue took the initiative to admit his faults. “I was negligent.”
“This isn’t negligence, my son. I know negligence when I see it.” Manor Lord Wei looked at him. “You’re simply realizing that your excuse is inadequate. Speak then. Was it Xiao-Heng and them who said something to you that led you to suspect me?”
Wei Jiangyue said, “No.”
Manor Lord Wei looked at him for a while before saying, “Fine, if it’s not, it’s not. Then let me ask another question. Over these many years, are you not aware of what kind of person your father is, and how exactly he’s treated other people? Your sixth brother was murdered by precisely that Blood-sucking Ghost. In your heart, is your father the kind of person who’d be willing to murder his own blood-related son for the sake of power?”
Wei Jiangyue suddenly stiffened. “That’s not…”
“You suspect me, but I’m not angry with you. You’ve decided to take this burden upon yourself, and you won’t let me blame Xiao-Heng and his Junior Brother, so I also won’t blame you. On the contrary, I’ll even praise you for your loyalty.” Since entering the room, Manor Lord Wei’s tone had been devoid of any anger, and it was only now that it darkened. “What I’m angry about is that you put yourself in danger for no reason, and you were even unwilling to say a word about it to me. This time, if you’d been careless for even one moment and something really happened, what would you have had me and your mother do?”
Wei Jiangyue stiffened even more, and he felt as if he couldn’t move even a finger.
His chest felt as if a hand had broken into it, exploring the deepest depths of his lake of emotions, rudely and unreasonably stirring them up with fierce fervor, instantly causing those dense feelings to overflow, spilling over with the joys and sorrows of life, and all the complexity of human emotions.
Manor Lord Wei saw that he had fallen silent, not speaking a word, and said, sighing, “Ah, you… That’s enough. It’s also quite late now, so go back and sleep. If there’s anything else, wait until it’s bright and early to say it.
With a heavy heart, Wei Jiangyue stood up and started walking out, but after two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back. “Dad, your son is at fault in this matter.”
Manor Lord Wei said a, “Yes,” sounding somewhat pleased. “Don’t be like this next time. Go then.”
Wei Jiangyue didn’t move, still looking back at him. “I, more than anyone, hope that you aren’t the white piece. I…”
He stopped for a moment before saying, in a hoarse voice, “I really like Sir Xiao. Since he’s been harmed to this degree by Xiao-Rou, right now, what I want to do the most is to help him find the main culprit behind all of this. So I don’t want you to have anything to do with this matter, or else I’ll feel that even if I hand my life over to him, it still won’t be enough.”
Manor Lord Wei startled, heart trembling, and almost didn’t even hear the rest of those words as he asked, “You like him? What kind of like?”
“…I don’t know.” Wei Jiangyue said. Actually, he had never dared to think too deeply on this question and said, “I just can’t stand it when he’s not all right.”
Manor Lord Wei looked at this appearance of his and reminded, “Anyone with eyes can see Xiao-Heng’s intentions towards him. You’re also clear on what kind of person Xiao-Heng is. He won’t step aside for others when he’s made up his mind, and not to mention that thing with Xiao-Rou…”
“I know.” Remembering Xiao-Rou, Wei Jiangyue couldn’t help furrowing his brows and interrupting with, “I know… I’ve never thought in that direction before.”
I’m just afraid that by the time you do think of it, you’ll find that you’ve already fallen deep and can’t get out.
Manor Lord Wei couldn’t say those words out loud and watched his son leave without looking back again.
It was almost the fifth period[1], and the long and thrilling night was on the verge of ending.
Wei Jiangyue’s face was expressionless, and he walked aimlessly forward. By the time he regained his senses, he found that he had unknowingly walked up to the boundaries of Sir Xiao’s courtyard. That courtyard was a picture of stillness, and it wasn’t clear whether the people inside were asleep or simply had not returned.
He lifted his head to look at that round, full moon. This was the first time in his life that he had felt so perplexed and uneasy.
If, half-a-year ago, someone had told him his father had perpetuated outrages and was a sanctimonious monster, he’d definitely act completely indifferent, and when the other party became dissatisfied and wanted to take even further advantage, he’d give that person a fierce tidying up. But right now, the ones suspecting his father were Wenren Heng and Sir Xiao, so he couldn’t ignore it, and he couldn’t find a way to ignore it.
He silently stood for a while, and he suddenly felt an uncontrollable desire to see Sir Xiao.
He wanted to hear that person’s thoughts and then he wanted to tell that person about what he and his father had spoken about and listen to that person’s judgment.
He closed his eyes, feeling as if he couldn’t wait another moment, so he went forward to knock on the door. In the end, he saw that there was actually no one around. Upon thinking that Ding Xilai and the others were still at the small county town, he thereupon left Shaolin, making straight for the foot of the mountain.
 
As night entered its fifth period, the moonlight slowly faded away, and the horizon also gradually became layered with gray-white.
While the sky was brightening, Ye You and Wenren Heng had finally returned to the Demonic Sect’s headquarters in the small county town.
Although it was said to be a headquarters, in actuality, it was just a not-too-big and not-too-small courtyard. But because it had been bought early, it was even older than other, bigger headquarters, and so Ye You had always taken it as his headquarters.
The scarred man had already been waiting for a long time.
The reason was that, midway, they had met Elder Bai and Elder Mei who had arrived to reconvene with Sect Master Ye. Those two Elders’ reactions upon seeing his Sect Master had been about the same as the previous Elder Miao and Elder Hei.
But this time there was no time for those two Elders to open their mouths, as Sect Master Ye immediately indicated for them to first return and notify the subordinates to boil some hot water. Originally, Elder Mei didn’t want to leave, but she was eventually persuaded by Sect Master Ye’s light, “Taking a warm bath and then having a good sleep is good for the skin.” And then he was also similarly sent away by his Sect Master, so he had come together with those two people.
This whole way, Elder Bai looked as if he was half-awake and didn’t say much at all.
In contrast, Elder Mei asked, “Does your Sect Master have some shameful intentions towards our Sect Master?”
The scarred man said, “I don’t know.”
Elder Mei pulled at her hair, her incomparably beautiful face bore a slight smile, and her gaze seemed as if it had been soaked in bloody water. “Little brother, don’t be like this, say something.”
“…” The scarred man said, “I really don’t know.”
Elder Mei smiled even more beautifully. “See, you’re already wrong to talk like this. Hurry and talk, don’t make this sister mad.”
“…” The scarred man endured such suffering the entire way, and he had originally thought that it’d get better once they reached the headquarters, but he quickly realized that he had been too naive, because headquarters still had Elder Baili and Elder Ji present. The two of them surrounded him, and he immediately wanted to cry.
Now that the Sect Master had finally reached the headquarters, he was practically crying tears of joy, and he hastily welcomed them. And then, immediately following, his footsteps stopped, as he found that his Sect Master’s smile seemed to be somewhat frightening. Feeling as if the other had probably been upset by Sect Master Ye, he then moved a bit further away, having a clear view of things.
At this time, those Elders had also reached Ye You’s side. “Sect Master.”
Ye You answered with all smiles, “Has the water been heated?”
Elder Baili said, “It has. When we heard you’ve returned, we had them carry it into your room.”
Ye You was very satisfied and returned to his room to bathe. Wenren Heng didn’t wait for their greetings and followed closely behind, right into the room. Ye You heard the sound of footsteps and turned around to give the other a look. Smiling, he stretched out his words, “Sect Master Wenren wants to see this lord take a bath?”
Wenren Heng looked at his smile rather warmly and walked forward a step, pinching his chin and kissing him.
On the way back, Wenren Heng had been teased by this disaster so many times that, for the sake of his sanity, he had to tidy the other up a bit.
Ye You let a light laugh spill from his lips and ducked slightly out of the way, accidentally bumping into the table behind him. Wenren Heng naturally wouldn’t let him escape, seizing the opportunity to press the person down on the table and kiss even deeper, while also simultaneously opening up his black robes.
Those Elders and the scarred man were currently standing around, dumbfounded by Wenren Heng suddenly following so closely behind. It was only when they heard the sound of something knocking against the table that they regained their senses. Their first reaction was that a fight had broken out, and without thinking, they uniformly ran into the room. In the end, what they saw was Wenren Heng pressing Ye You down, even tearing his clothes, and all of them immediately stared, eyes wide.
Ye You, “…”
Wenren Heng, “…”
The scarred man, “…”
The Elders, “…”
The room was deathly still for a instant before those Elders rolled up their sleeves, making to grab that rascal, rushing over as one and angrily saying, “We’ll beat you to death, you loathsome rogue! Let go of the Sect Master!”
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The author has something to say:
There should be some slow motion here.
The group madly rushes to enter the room, while Wenren Heng kisses Ye You, slipping and ripping his clothes.
First Step\n
Scarred Man: =口=\n
Those Elders: =口=\n
Elder Bai: =_=
Second Step\n
Scarred Man: ~~o(>_<)o~~\n
Those Elders: (◟_◞)#\n
Elder Bai: (⊙_⊙?)
Third Step\n
Scarred Man: ~~o(>_<)o~~ the Sect Master is going to die\n
Those Elders: (╯｀□´)╯⌒┻━┻\n
Elder Bai: =口=
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[1] 五更 3-5am. Right before dawn.
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<summary>Next chapter the big reveal is coming!</summary>
And, by big reveal, I of course mean that the Elders learn about the Relationship lmao.
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Anyway, man, Wei Jiangyue, did you think confronting your dad about this would’ve made him anything but defensive? Do you think anyone would just straight up admit that they were the culprit behind hundreds of murders and druggings? Ah, Wei Jiangyue is, in a way, even more innocent than Ding Xilai…
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