He was currently covered in dirt, dressed in torn clothes, and thrown haphazardly in front of the grave. It really was hard to look any more wretched.
Qiu Chongyun felt rather sorry and leaned down to whisper, “It’s really been hard for you. You’re still hiding the truth even now. If this is for my sake and not that little sister, I’ll really be touched.” She even wiped her eyes as she spoke, though it wasn’t clear whether she was faking her feelings.
But Xie Zhiwei’s heart was unmoved. He didn’t even want to smile.
Perhaps Yan Zhifei was just partial to Xie Zhiwei, or perhaps his disappointment in Bai Jianzhu was absolute. But now the sect leader had no desire to put up appearances and simply walked in front of the grave to speak directly to the tombstone that Mu He was still caressing.
“Zhiwei, it’s been four years. Our daoist sect can finally do you justice. I trust that Martial Nephew Mu He won’t disappoint you.”
“Thank you, sect leader martial uncle,” Mu He was still stroking the three characters, an almost dreamy softness in his voice. “Shizun won’t be.”
Xie Zhiwei continued to shrink his already pathetically low presence under the circumstances, but still couldn’t help secretly laughing at Mu He. He was so focused on the words of the stele that he sounded floaty even when he talked. He couldn’t resist looking up to peek at him, just in time to catch Mu He’s next words.
“Disciple has come precisely because of shizun’s last wish.”
“Last wish?” Yan Zhifei echoed.
Mu He pursed the corners of his mouth and stopped stroking the words. He dropped in arm in slow motion and took a step back, eyes still riveted on the tombstone in fascination as if he could see something else there. His lips curved, but it didn’t seem like a smile.
It was actually full of bitterness.
“Disciple really…” he murmured, “…doesn’t want to pay respects to you anymore, but…”
What does that mean? He doesn’t want to pay respects? This is the first thing he says after seeing “me” in four years? ? ?
Xie Zhiwei was stunned. Although he felt uneasy, he could understand. That’s right, who cares about poor relatives after you get rich? Xie Zhiwei might have blocked the wind and rain for the hero in the past, but now? To the world he was a poor daoist, but in secret…hehe. I couldn’t teach the hero how to cultivate or be his building blocks for the future.
If he doesn’t want to pay respects, then don’t.
So why did the hero add on a “but”?
Mu He didn’t finish the sentence. He lifted up his robes and knelt down before the grave in the light of the setting sun. A fresh spell of autumn rain had just washed the surrounding trees and grasses until they gleamed, but there was still some dust stuck to the hems of those white robes. Mu He was a sophisticated person, but he didn’t even crease his eyebrows as he gave a deep bow. Xie Zhiwei was all too familiar with this action. He was still wondering why the hero was acting so thoroughly when he clearly stated he didn’t want to do it. With his current status and skills, it didn’t matter whether he did the proper rites.
“When it comes to paying respects to one’s master, this kid’s still quite good,” Chu Zhishi remarked from the side.
The daoist sect’s ritual of paying respects to one’s master was simple. Both hands were raised to the eyebrows to form a taiji seal before the subject made three deep bows. The only requirement was that the posture be respectful and the actions uniform. When bowing, the forehead had to be lowered to the knees.
After paying respects to his master at Ascension City, Mu He had probably never shown anyone else so much respect in his life thanks to his personality, not even his father the King of Nine Provinces.
He’s closer to his nanny dad than his actual dad. Xie Zhiwei felt flattered by the protagonist’s favor. But soon he was shocked by the minute change of expression on Mu He’s face. He thought there’d be at least a trace of reluctance or stiffness if Mu He was bowing against his will. Instead, the youth had shut his eyes with a pious and sincere expression like a believer worshipping his god. When he opened them again, his pupils shone like ink and even carried a trace of fervor. Rising to his feet, he stared at the stone tombstone before resting his hand on it again. His fingers were shaking.
“My apologies to shizun. Disciple cannot bear…to wait any longer.”
Xie Zhiwei felt depressed. Looks like the hero’s not only obsessive-compulsive but also a calligraphy maniac…
Tsk, tsk, no wonder he paid respects to me. No wonder his expression looked so…indescribable. Those eyes were staring straight at the words on the stele, ah! It’s a shame I’m a “dead man” right now, or else I’d give him the tombstone. It’d save him from thinking about me—ah no, about my gravestone.
Chu Zhishi said, “Youngster, you’ve seen second senior brother and paid your respects. Now it’s time for those two to give second senior brother an explanation, right?”
Mu He nodded with his back to him. “Right, it’s time to give explanations, Aunt Yun.”
“All right, leave it to me. Don’t you worry, nephew,” Qiu Chongyun said cheerfully before walking to Yan Zhifei and the rest with a respectful gesture of invitation. “Please come on a trip with me to Pill Furnace City, everyone. When it comes to the poison on Xie zhenren’s body, account transactions, and so on, you can just ask me.”
Chu Zhishi arched his brow. “Ask you?” His eyes swept over Mu He before laughing coldly. “Looks like you want to send us away. Mu He, what are you going to do now?”
“Naturally, give shizun an explanation.”
Yan Zhifei knitted his brows. “Martial Nephew Mu He, even if Junior Brother Bai committed crimes, he is still a city lord of the daoist sect. This matter should be dealt with by the sect, so it’s inappropriate for you to act privately. Moreover, your words alone cannot prove—”
SHINNNNNG!
Like a gust of wind, the brilliance of Qingping Sword rose in the air to materialize a boundary field. Xie Zhiwei looked up in amazement and saw that only a few figures were left within its confines: Mu He, himself, Bai Jianzhu, and four to five demonic sect soldiers. Xie Zhiwei’s eyelid twitched as his heart hung in the air. He was collapsed on the grass next to the tombstone. The early autumn temperatures were neither hot nor cold, but cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Everywhere around him was hazy, making it impossible for outsiders to see in or insiders to see out. Even the wind couldn’t get in. The hero’s steeled his heart to…
“Get moving,” Mu He said.
There was a swish this time—the sound of scraping metal. Xie Zhiwei could already guess that Mu He had ordered those underlings to draw their swords.
Is he going to chop me and Bai Jianzhu to pieces, or dice us into bits?
But it didn’t seem appropriate for the hero to wait four years to capture his enemies and then hand them over to some soldiers to kill. That was too insincere.
Xie Zhiwei opened his eyes and braced himself to look. His eyeballs almost popped out at the sight. The soldiers had lined up to surround his grave, each of them holding a metal implement in his hand—not swords but shovels, clearly intending to…dig up the grave.
More sweat broke out on Xie Zhiwei’s forehead. He could only question Mu He wordlessly with his eyes: what are you doing, youngster? Master gave you the family relic, so what else do you want? Are you trying to dig up treasures I might have hid in my tomb?
Seemingly sensing his look, Mu He glanced back indifferently. “Don’t be anxious. You’re coming up next.”
As he spoke, he turned before Xie Zhiwei could analyze his words to approach Bai Jianzhu step by step. Looming above the man, he declared, “Martial Uncle Bai, I trust you’ve been well since we’ve parted.”
Somehow Mu He did something that temporarily restored Bai Jianzhu’s sanity. He stared at the youth’s face and cried, “Beast, you’re the one who killed Yu-er! Just what do you want?!” He was so angry that he overcame his fright and weakness, which made Xie Zhiwei admire him despite his fear in hindsight.
Mu He stood there calmly and let Bai Jianzhu shout before he suddenly asked, “You’re very sad that Bai Yu’s dead, right? You didn’t want him to die, did you?”
The question was both random and nonsensical, but his expression was so intent that Bai Jianzhu froze.
Traces of grief appeared in Mu He’s eyes. “You treated Bai Yu as your hope and wanted him to revive the family’s reputation and shake the cultivation world. Now that everything’s ruined, is it pointless to live? Do you really want to die?”
Bai Jianzhu finally reacted and exploded. “What madness are you spewing now?!”
Mu He bent down like a deity offering salvation to all beings. His voice was light. “For four years, I’ve been the same…”
Xie Zhiwei couldn’t believe his ears. Had the hero lost his mind? How many people wanted glory and wealth, beautiful clothes and food? But the protagonist said he wanted to die? Youngsters like you can fool around with anything, why go against the mainstream?
Bai Jianzhu and Xie Zhiwei were different people, but he too was just as stunned. Eyes bulging, he prepared to speak, but only blood poured from his open mouth. His eyes widened even further. He looked down and saw a dagger stuck into his chest, its handle in Mu He’s hand. Those fingers were white and slender but also stained with fresh blood. They flowed down his wrist to wet his lapel and cuffs, like a white lotus fallen into a bloody sea.
Mu He’s face lacked the cruelty or fierce expressions of a murderer. His expression was as sorrowful as ever. He lifted his head slightly towards the gravestone and murmured, “Shizun, I’ve offended…if shizun thinks disciple has gone too far, then reprimand this disciple…a few words.” As he spoke, he twisted the dagger in Bai Jianzhu’s chest, ignoring the man’s miserable screams.
Xie Zhiwei thought that Mu He had truly gone crazy—the kind that was beyond help. Or rather, who has the skills to help such a powerful maniac, ah pooh.
After Bai Jianzhu started screaming, his eyes dulled as if accepting his fate. It was the instinctive reaction of ordinary people when facing their death. Mu He pulled the dagger out and left a huge hole in his chest. Thanks to its proximity to the heart, Xie Zhiwei could even see the organ beating quickly inside the body.
At last, Mu He’s expression shifted slightly. “Does it hurt?”
He was smiling the same innocent grin he wore towards others four years ago. It was an expression befitting an immortal beyond the human realm, yet his hands were stained in blood. Bai Jianzhu seemed to look at him in a trance before nodding subconsciously.
Mu He’s smile deepened. “Don’t worry. This doesn’t count as pain.” As he spoke, he went ahead and stabbed Bai Jianzhu again, this time on the other side of his heart.
Xie Zhiwei watched and heard it all with trepidation while imagining the same actions on his own body and was covered in cold sweat.
—
Translator’s Note: Yes hello, is this the Shizun Trauma Hotline? I’ve got a new patient lined up for your wards…