Ch117 - Rebellion

The Demonic Sect had rarely appeared before cultivators in the last two years, but Qiu Chongyun was always there when they provoked others. Everyone’s face changed at her arrival. Even Mu He looked up.

Qiu Chongyun fluttered down from the back of her phoenix. With a wave of her sleeve, the bird cried out and flew into the distant night skies again. She stood beyond the crowd and raised her lips in a smile. “At the invitation of King Yin, nujia is here to recognize her relative.”

Everyone exchanged looks. This was equal to the Demonic Sect faction admitting the identity of Mu He. Xie Zhiwei’s heart was doing flip-flops. After his impersonation of Chi Yan was exposed, he lost track of Qiu Chongyun. He never thought she was secretly colluding with Yin Cangshan! This was unbelievable! Even if she couldn’t be husband and wife with the hero, she was still his relation. Why was she adding fuel to the flames at a time like this?!

Qiu Chongyun glanced towards Xie Zhiwei before her eyes brimmed with tears. “Nujia has heard all about this daoist’s matters. Don’t fret oh, nujia will find you later to catch up on old times.”

Faced with such blatant teasing, Xie Zhiwei coughed dryly and said, “Maiden jests.”

Xia Zhiqi’s cold voice replied, “Show some respect before the daoist sect.”

Faced with cold words to her warm welcome, Qiu Chongyun pursed her lips helplessly before sashaying to the center of the crowd. She stopped in front of Mu He and took off the item pinned to her waist. Looking at the lad, she sighed and said, “Nephew is injured. Why were you so careless? If elder sister saw you now she’d definitely be heartbroken. Even an aunt like me is distressed, ah.”

Mu He’s gaze was calm as he didn’t answer. Dark red light surrounded his body as if forming a cage visible to the naked eye.

“Nephew seems uninterested, but Aunt Yun thinks you’ll be interested in this.” As she spoke, she slowly opened up the item in her hands. It was a painting of some age, the paper slightly yellow. However, the colors of the inks remained brilliant. Most of the people in the crowd had good eyes and could see it even in the evening.

On it was drawn a woman in white, smiling as she stood beneath a rockery blooming with spring flowers. She was peerlessly light and beautiful as if the Goddess of the Moon descended to Earth. More miraculous was her similarity to Mu He. If Mu He had inherited his sword-like eyebrows from the King of Nine Provinces, then his delicate, soft temperament definitely came from this woman.

The King of Nine Provinces finally walked down the steps, his eyes fixated on the painting as he stammered, “Zhaoshui…”

Qiu Chongyun gave a charming laugh. “That’s right. This is my elder sister Qiu Zhaoshui, the Right Saintess of the Demonic Sect.”

The ministers who had spoken up for Mu He exchanged looks at the proclamation and withdrew while swallowing their words. Mu He was looking at the figure in the painting too, his lips curved up in a grin. “Royal Father, is mother extremely beautiful?”

The king nodded in a trance and then clenched his teeth. “Give the painting to this king.”

“It’s a pity that the king once yearned for elder sister, but now only sees and thinks of others,” Qiu Chongyun sighed as she placed the painting in his hand. “Oh right, I should be calling you brother-in-law instead, righ—”

She didn’t finish speaking when the king’s expression changed as he fiercely threw the painting at Mu He. The strange aura around Mu He could destroy half a mountain, to say nothing of a piece of paper. As Qiu Chongyun exclaimed in alarm, the painting landed against the dim red light and instantly dissipated.

Du Sheng couldn’t help crying out. “Royal King, why is this necessary?”

As the ashes of the painting were blown away without a trace, the king’s expression remained as iron. He looked straight at Mu He and said, “It is extremely beautiful. But it would be even more lovely if she was just an ordinary woman.”

Xie Zhiwei couldn’t help stepping forward. What does that mean? Does he scorn Mu He’s birth origins? Dammit, what were you doing back then? Why didn’t you ask the girl properly after you slept with her? You never meant to spend a lifetime with her at all, did you! Qiu Zhaoshui was already a waste by then. If she said everywhere that she was part of the Demonic Sect, how could she survive?

This wolf-hearted, irresponsible old straight man!

Xie Zhiwei gnashed his teeth and prepared to step forward but Yan Zhifei held him tight. “You cannot go!” he forbade.

Mu He was extremely serene. Although he would usually show some trace of sadness and sorrow, there was nothing on his face now. He was akin to a pool of stagnant water. The King of Nine Provinces’ attitude seemed to be within Yin Cangshan’s expectations. He clasped his hands at him and said, “Royal King should be convinced by now, right? A brief pain is better than prolonged suffering. Better to see clearly early than let His Imperial Majesty notice the clues and do a personal interrogation. Your Royal Majesty would be implicated by then.”

The King of Nine Provinces’ pupils shrank before he nodded wearily. He seemed to have ages a dozen years in an instant and stopped looking at anyone, including Mu He. As he hobbled back to the steps, he tossed back, “You take care of it, Cangshan. Although this matter has shamed this king, we are still father and son…spare him a life.”

Xie Zhiwei finally had enough and shook free of Yan Zhifei to raise his voice. “Matters of bloodline cannot be decided by my disciple. It is too irresponsible for the king to erase the father-son bonds so lightly!”

The King of Nine Provinces looked at him in astonishment, but his expression quickly turned mocking as if Xie Zhiwei was an idiot. Those in the crowd examined Xie Zhiwei from head to toe while many members of the court who knew the inside story were talking about his glorious deeds. The most repeated comment was , “Look, this is the legendary master that Shizi Mu He’s mentioned.”

Yan Zhifei followed after Xie Zhiwei with a heavy expression, grabbing him by the shoulder once more. “Zhiwei, you’ve grown muddled!”

Xie Zhiwei took a deep breath and pressed on the hand gripping his shoulder. “Eldest senior brother, that’s my disciple. I’m clearer than anyone else!”

There was no greater sorrow than being the sole sober mind in a sea of drunks. Only Xie Zhiwei had read the novel and knew Mu He was the one who least deserved such treatment. After grabbing everyone’s attention, he made a movie that the original Xie Zhiwei would’ve never done. He wanted to remove Yan Zhifei’s hand, but the latter held him with enough strength to stay put. Getting anxious, Xie Zhiwei could only say, “Eldest senior brother, I’ve offended.”

His cultivation exceeded Yan Zhifei’s, so he fought back with spiritual energy. There was a grunt before Yan Zhifei staggered back a few steps, knocked aside by pure internal force. Bixu zhenren Xie Zhiwei had always acted lowkey, so few in the crowd had ever seen him. They only heard of his magnanimous nature and good samaritan personality. But whether or not they knew him, they were all shocked by his actions now. He actually acted against his own sect leader!

Xia Zhiqi was still channeling spiritual energy to Chu Zhishi to save his life. She couldn’t help stopping to support Yan Zhifei at this time. The latter was looking at Xie Zhiwei incredulously, unable to rebuke him at the moment. All the words he thought of weren’t enough to relieve his disappointment.

Xia Zhiqi knitted her brows as well. She murmured, “Second senior brother, this is a tit-for-tat situation. You should bear with it for now and take care of your disciple later.”

Xie Zhiwei shook his head sullenly.

How could he wait? Although my disciple won’t die, his glass heart can’t take it, ah. He left them both and walked towards Mu He, saying loudly to the crowd, “This surnamed Xie does not understand your court affairs. If it’s a matter of bloodline, please let him go with me to the mountains and never return to offend. No matter what…he’s still the disciple of I, Xie Zhiwei.”

Mu He stood straight in the chilly winds, turning a deaf ear to all censure and disdain. But after hearing Xie Zhiwei’s bold proclamation, he shouted in a trembling voice, “Shizun…”

Xie Zhiwei took out Qingping Sword and slashed at that dark red energy. “Don’t be afraid, Master will take you away.”

As long as the green mountains stood still and the waters still flowed, as long as the hero was still the protagonist, he would make a comeback eventually.

Yin Cangshan’s expression was conflicted. “Xie zhenren, this…I’m afraid won’t do.”

Xie Zhiwei looked at him like with a flaming gaze. As if afraid, Yin Cangshan took a few steps back. “From what I’ve said before, Shizi Mu He bombarded the Buddhist sect today to steal Golden Lotus. We need to give the Buddhist sect an explanation, don’t we?”

Your grandpa, you just have to put the blame on Mu He, right?

Xie Zhiwei forced himself to remain calm. “Dare I ask…the appropriate way to deal with my disciple?”

Du Sheng looked at the King of Nine Provinces, whose expression seemed determined as if he couldn’t wait to get rid of Mu He. He could only say, “Let King Yin decide. This poor monk shall simply do as he says.”

Yin Cangshan rested his hands behind his back and said methodically, “It doesn’t matter how Shizi obtained the Black, White, and Red Lotus. The fact remains that Xie zhenren’s protecting his shortcomings to this point, so you’d simply give him Qingping Sword again after he gains Golden Lotus. Think about it, all of you. What will be the consequences?”

The legend of the Five Treasures were known to every man, woman, and child in this world. All the people present exchanged silent looks, afraid to imagine it. In the end, it was Yin Cangshan who painted a picture for them.

“Leaving aside how invincible he’ll be after unifying all the treasures, no one will be able to stop a person with the bloodline of the Demonic Sect from ascending the imperial throne…or prevent him from connecting to another world.”

Everyone sucked in a breath.

Rumor had it that the “other world” contained great treasures and massive spiritual energy, but it was also full of danger. It was said to be the place where the ancient demon clan was sealed, so its hostility ran rampant. Ordinary mortals would immediately corrode into bones upon contact with the realm.

Yin Cangshan’s tone remained leisurely. “If Nephew Mu He leads the Demonic Sect to its origins, then the lives of the entire world will accompany you. It’s a hefty price, ah.”

Everyone stared at Mu He. Where they once saw an alien, they now saw a monster, or a demonic god. This white-robed shura would end up leading this world into its destruction.

Xie Zhiwei only slashed with Qingping Sword. “My disciple has never thought of doing this!”

Perhaps the original protagonist did in the novel and actually acted upon it by the end. But in the current plot, the hero only had a one-sided pursuit of Xie Zhiwei in the name of love, plus some fight scenes here and there. His ambitions weren’t so vast.

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The author has something to say: The next few chapters might leave you all even more confused. The closer I get to the end, the more cheap twists I add to the plot…don’t panic, I’ll speed up updates even more, haha.

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