Hua Yan knew that Xie Yingxian was just bluffing. It was already impressive that he had tracked the situation this far. As for who was behind Lu Huaixian’s death, neither of them had any clues. They only knew that it wasn’t simply because of their former leader, Xie Changyun.
Xie Yingxian mentioned to her that he vaguely felt Jiang Louyue was hiding something, but considering her current state and the likelihood that she would eventually regain control of the Dongfeng Buye Tower, it wasn’t wise to push too hard. Therefore, he didn’t pursue the matter further.
In any case, this incident indeed had many unresolved aspects.
However, when Xie Yingxian’s gaze swept over, it exuded a confidence that made everyone feel as if he already understood the whole situation.
His earlier remarks had clearly intimidated quite a few people, making his bluff even more effective. This was often the case within the sect.
Hua Yan also watched, noticing many who were sweating nervously and some who were suppressing their anger. The surrounding area gradually quieted down, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the situation to unfold.
Tingjian Manor, Qingcheng Sect, Dangshan Sect…
He looked at each sect one by one.
When he reached Baiya Peak, a sudden clear sound broke the suffocating silence, standing out distinctly, drawing everyone’s attention.
It turned out someone had been too nervous and accidentally knocked over a teacup.
The porcelain cup shattered on the ground, breaking into pieces instantly.
Baiya Peak’s leader, Bai Henghuan, looked embarrassed and said, “I’m sorry, I…”
He reached out to pick up the fragments, but a disciple from Baiya Peak had already bent down to do it. However, Xie Yingxian’s gaze remained fixed on him.
Everyone knew Bai Henghuan had a soft and timid personality, and Baiya Peak was actually quite dissatisfied with this leader. Unlike the other three major sects, where the capable could rise to leadership, Baiya Peak’s and Tingjian Manor’s leaders were traditionally inherited by family disciples. Bai Henghuan wasn’t considered great, but he wasn’t bad enough to be entirely unacceptable, so they had to make do.
Yet, many disciples of Baiya Peak began to secretly complain. Bai Henghuan, just being stared at by the demon sect leader, was already sweating profusely, entirely lacking the presence of a sect leader, and really bringing shame to Baiya Peak.
Just as they were thinking this, Xie Yingxian spoke.
He stared intently at Bai Henghuan and said, “Peak Leader Bai, as far as I know, your elder brother Bai Hengjue once had a marriage agreement with the eldest lady of Tingjian Manor, Lu Huaixian, correct?”
Xie Yingxian spoke slowly and deliberately, his confidence even more apparent.
While others couldn’t see through it, Hua Yan instantly knew that he was just putting on an act, probably thinking of what to say on the spot.
Bai Henghuan didn’t respond, but his sweating became even more severe.
Xie Yingxian continued, “After Lu Huaixian eloped with someone, abandoning this engagement, you must have received some news about it; otherwise, you wouldn’t have implicated Xie Changyun. So, did Bai Hengjue ever hold a grudge over this matter? Did Baiya Peak ever feel…”
At this moment, an elder from Baiya Peak interjected, “Nonsense! You can’t just slander Hengjue because he’s deceased! Hengjue remarried and had a son; he never harbored any thoughts about Lu Huaixian!”
Other elders stood up to refute as well.
However, Xie Yingxian ignored them entirely, focusing intently on Bai Henghuan.
“Peak Leader Bai,” Xie Yingxian said slowly, “when someone has done something wrong, their conscience will be uneasy. Can you, with a clear conscience, tell me you had nothing to do with this? Do you truly know nothing about why Lu Huaixian died?”
Hua Yan, well acquainted with Xie Yingxian’s knack for bluffing, knew that if Bai Henghuan could respond firmly, Xie Yingxian could dismiss it as a joke. But if he couldn’t…
Bai Henghuan’s face was pale. Despite his handsome features, inherited from the Bai family, his overly timid demeanor made him appear utterly unpresentable.
Xie Yingxian continued to press him.
Bai Henghuan finally couldn’t hold it any longer and spoke in a panic, “Stop asking! I really don’t know! Huaixian’s death has nothing to do with me! I didn’t harm her!”
Xie Yingxian responded, “Oh? Then who did?”
Bai Henghuan, clutching the table in front of him, stood up and said, “It’s really not me! I liked her too much to harm her, I…”
As he spoke, he tried to flee.
However, Xie Yingxian stepped forward to block his way, his voice even more assured, “Peak Leader Bai, you do know, don’t you? But you dare not say because that person…”
Bai Henghuan’s face turned deathly pale. He looked around, feeling as if everyone was staring at him, pressuring him.
But this matter clearly had nothing to do with him!
“It was my brother Hengjue! It had nothing to do with me! I didn’t harm her! I even helped her escape when I saw how miserable she was and that she was pregnant… If you want revenge, go after the right person, not me!”
His panicked confession instantly caused an uproar.
“Lu Huaixian was killed by Bai Hengjue?”
“What happened? Didn’t she elope with the demon sect leader?”
“Did Bai Hengjue turn hateful out of love?”
An elder from Baiya Peak, furious, shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting! How can you slander your brother like this! What kind of sorcery has the demon sect used to make you speak such nonsense!”
Xie Yingxian shrugged and said, “I didn’t do anything. He said it himself.”
While the two sides continued arguing, an inconspicuous man in black suddenly appeared in the crowd. His appearance was ordinary, his build was average, and even the sword he held seemed common. However, his swift and unmatched movement was anything but ordinary.
He swiftly darted past Bai Henghuan, and by the time everyone realized it, he had already dragged Bai Henghuan several feet away, bringing him to the center of the Sword-seeking Tournament arena.
Bai Henghuan was still in a daze when the man in black, with a single stroke, severed one of his hands at the wrist, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
“Ahhh—”
Bai Henghuan screamed, clutching his arm in agony and writhing in pain.
The man in black stepped on his severed limb and said, “So it was Baiya Peak, and it was Bai Hengjue. No wonder I couldn’t find anything… Dying in the Miyin Dragon Cave was too easy for him.”
The voice unmistakably belonged to Jiang Louyue, yet it carried a cold, ethereal indifference.
“What exactly happened?”
This was the question everyone wanted to ask.
Although Bai Henghuan wasn’t well-liked, they couldn’t ignore the current peak leader being trampled underfoot. Two elders from Baiya Peak immediately flew over to rescue him. However, the man in black let out a cold smile, turned his wrist, and raised his sword, exuding a menacing aura.
Caught off guard, the two elders faced the man in black’s sword.
His swordsmanship was like a rainbow.
In the blink of an eye, the two elders from Baiya Peak had blood gushing from their necks and fell to the ground, lifeless.
If they were just watching a spectacle earlier, this turn of events truly terrified everyone.
The martial skills of the elders from Baiya Peak, though not the best in the world, were certainly not weak. Even if they initiated the attack, to have their lives taken within a few moves was something not even the heads of various sects could guarantee.
The man in black coldly said, “There’s no need to rush to your deaths. I won’t spare a single one of you from Baiya Peak.”
His voice was icy, and he raised his sword again, slicing a piece of flesh from Bai Henghuan’s thigh.
Bai Henghuan trembled all over from the pain. The man in black said, “If you don’t talk, I’ll cut off another limb…”
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Bai Henghuan immediately shouted, “It was all Bai Hengjue! He was furious about Huaixian breaking off the engagement and then found out she eloped with the demon sect leader Xie Changyun to Liuxian City. So… so… he pretended to be Lu Zhenxing and wrote a letter to Lu Huaixian, luring her to a meeting place where he captured and imprisoned her…”
“He was determined to take revenge and humiliate Huaixian, to make her regret and suffer. He even told her that Xie Changyun already had a wife and children… I tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t listen! He was my elder brother and the young master of Baiya Peak, how could I control him! I really couldn’t bear it! I feared that Huaixian would be tortured to death, so I later helped her escape. It’s all true! Please spare me!”
The man in black sneered at his desperate attempt to clear his name, “If you couldn’t bear it, why didn’t you save her from the beginning? Instead, you watched her being tortured…”
As he spoke, he severed Bai Henghuan’s other hand.
Bai Henghuan was in such pain that he couldn’t speak clearly. A swordsman might still practice with one hand if he lost the other, but losing both hands would render him useless.
The man in black coldly continued, “Impersonating Lu Zhenxing… When did Bai Hengjue learn to imitate someone’s handwriting? I recall you have a talent for painting and calligraphy. In that case, these sinful hands are unnecessary.”
Bai Henghuan forgot that the fake Jiang Louyue had spent so long in the Jianghu that he knew everyone’s secrets.
“It was all… all his doing! I didn’t want to do it! I really didn’t! And… and didn’t Huaixian escape? Her death really has nothing to do with me!”
The man in black replied coldly, “She escaped only to give birth to her child. Afterward, she committed suicide. Whose fault do you think that is?”
Upon hearing this, Hua Yan suddenly understood.
Piecing everything together, it became clear: Lu Huaixian and Xie Changyun had eloped to Liuxian City. Bai Hengjue forged a letter from Lu Zhenxing to lure Lu Huaixian out. Feeling guilty towards Lu Zhenxing, she went, only to be imprisoned by Bai Hengjue. Xie Changyun, seeing the letter, likely believed that Lu Huaixian regretted her decision and wanted to return to Tingjian Manor. Thus, he left for his sect, never mentioning retirement again. After being humiliated and learning that Xie Changyun had a wife and children, Lu Huaixian, under the double blow, escaped to give birth to Lu Chengsha, and then, unable to endure any longer, took her own life in despair.
There might be details missing, but this was roughly what had happened.
She stood there, feeling a sudden wave of sadness, not only for Lu Huaixian but also for Lu Chengsha, who should have had his mother’s love.
None of them should have ended up like this.
Bai Henghuan writhed and struggled, screaming and begging for mercy, but no one dared to approach.
This whole matter was simply too horrifying.
The former master of Baiya Peak, out of personal vengeance, had imprisoned and humiliated the eldest lady of Tingjian Manor, driving her to suicide. And judging by his words, it seemed the current master of Baiya Peak was also involved.
Naturally, the people of Baiya Peak didn’t want him to continue pressing the issue. Such public humiliation was unbearable.
At this point, it would be absurd not to recognize who the man in black was.
“Lu Zhusheng! Did you commit the massacre at Miyin Dragon Cave just to avenge Lu Huaixian, whose killer you didn’t even know?”
“Lu Zhusheng, you’re a beast in human clothing!”
The man in black no longer concealed his identity. He removed the disguise from his face, revealing the handsome and clean-cut face of Lu Zhusheng, who usually had a carefree smile. But now, his expression was chillingly cold.
Hua Yan finally realized what had been bothering her all along.
A martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of their skill often appeared younger than their actual age. Lu Zhusheng wasn’t a baby-faced man; at forty-something, if his martial skills were ordinary, he wouldn’t look so young. Yet, he appeared to be in his thirties, which meant his martial prowess was much greater than he had shown.
“I’m a beast in human clothing? How dare you, Baiya Peak, accuse me of such a thing?” Lu Zhusheng’s smile grew colder. With a leap, he plunged into the midst of the Baiya Peak disciples. His sword slashed down, and the throats of the two disciples who had spoken earlier were instantly cut, their heads severed. His expression remained unchanged as he prepared to kill again, blood dripping from his sword, making him appear even more cold-blooded and ruthless.
Everyone finally realized that someone capable of committing the massacre at Miyin Dragon Cave truly had no regard for human life.
“You can try again. If I could kill Xie Changyun, what makes you think I can’t slaughter the entire Baiya Peak?”
His words left the demonic sect disciples stunned. “You killed the former sect leader?”
“How did you kill him? Stop boasting! Are you really that strong?”
“I don’t believe it! Our former sect leader retired to a peaceful life!”
Lu Zhusheng smirked. “Why can’t I be that strong? I was always talented, but as an adopted son, it wasn’t suitable for me to stand out. I didn’t show my full potential. I trained for years, finally lured him out, and killed him honorably. It’s laughable that he thought Huaixian had returned to Tingjian Manor and was just in seclusion. I had to tell him the truth—she died because of him. She had a son, but he would never see him. His face was full of regret at the end, but what good did it do? He didn’t even bother to check Tingjian Manor when he noticed she was missing. He deserved it!”
“They all deserve to die. You all deserve to die. It would be best if the entire Baiya Peak perished to accompany her.”
As he spoke, his sword unhesitatingly sliced through the throats of two more Baiya Peak disciples. His terrifying killing intent was something the onlookers had only seen in Lu Zhenxing and Lu Chengsha before.
Most of the elders and disciples of Baiya Peak were on the mountain, with only a few present here. At this moment, an elder from Baiya Peak shouted, “Tingjian Manor! How can you let such a demon go unchecked?”
“Unchecked?”
Someone suddenly responded. The voice was deep and solemn, carrying a hint of unrestrainable sorrow.
A shadow swiftly approached, revealing an imposing figure with a head of white hair. His expression showed he had just snapped out of his shock. He glanced at the writhing Bai Henghuan on the ground and then at the people of Baiya Peak. “Did you kill my daughter?”
The newcomer was none other than the old master of Tingjian Manor, Lu Zhenxing.
Lu Zhenxing seemed to have aged instantly. He quickly stepped in front of Bai Henghuan, pointing his sword at him. His heavy voice, almost trembling, demanded, “In my name… what did you write to her? Speak!”