Ruan Hailou gave a bitter, pained smile. “Yes, I’ll never forget what happened. How the one I trusted most plotted against me in secret—how he did such things to me!”
“Because of this incident, the sect gradually fell apart. Not long after you left, Zhu-shixiong left as well. The sect that had been fading like the setting sun waned even further. Shizu left the position of sect leader to Shifu, but Shifu’s heart could never rest. Right before the end, he told us the truth. He said to us that if you ever came back, we must tell you that he owes you half a lifetime of wrongs.”
Ruan Hailou’s face was now deathly pale, and a strange smile bloomed on his face. “Owes me? If he owes me, why doesn’t he come out himself? Why make you say it?!” His expression turned savage. “Is he still alive after all?! He’s been hiding in the dark watching us this entire time, hasn’t he?! Call him out! Call Hui Leshan out!”
There was a faint, almost indiscernible trace of pity in Zhao Chiying’s eyes. “Shifu spent half his life wallowing in guilt because of what happened. He passed early, unable to cure the sickness in his heart.”
Ruan Hailou shook his head. “Impossible! How could someone as cunning and sly as him die so young!”
Zhao Chiying sighed. “I fear that even Shifu never imagined that what he owed you would be repaid with the blood of so many Bixia Sect disciples. Each debt should be counted separately. As for this current debt between us, I’ll settle it.”
But it was like Ruan Hailou couldn’t hear her. “I refuse to believe that he’s dead. Where is his grave?”
Yue Kunchi couldn’t take it any longer. “When Bixia Sect leaders die, their bodies are cremated and their ashes scattered among the many peaks of Mount Tai. Only their memorial tablet is enshrined in the House of Founders. Have you spent so long as a foreigner that you forgot this too?”
Ruan Hailou slowly closed his eyes. After a long while, two streams of tears flowed down his cheeks, and he spoke no more.
Zhao Chiying said to Fan Yuanbai and the rest, “Dress your wounds, then search around to see if there are any other disciples still alive. When that’s done, shut these people up in separate cells. We’ll deal with them some other day.”
“Yes!” The disciples quickly replied.
Pu Anmi blurted out, “My master Kunye will be here soon to visit Sect Leader Zhao. I ask for the Sect Leader to release me. We can talk this over.”
Zhao Chiying was perplexed. “Who is Kunye?”
She’d been in seclusion for a long time—she’d never even heard of Kunye.
“My master is the Göktürk Khaganate’s Wise King of the Left, and the disciple of the Khaganate’s Grand Master, Hulugu. He’s defeated Xuandu Mountain’s sect leader.” He paused to look at Shen Qiao. “Ah yes, it was precisely this Sect Leader Shen—Daoist Master Shen.”
Zhao Chiying furrowed her brows. “What exactly is going on here?”
Yue Kunchi endured the pain of his injuries and briefly explained the ins and outs of the tale. Then he said to Zhao Chiying, “We owe much to Daoist Master Shen—without him, we would have already lost control of the situation before you arrived.”
Zhao Chiying nodded, then cupped her hands at Shen Qiao in thanks. “Thank you very much for your help, Daoist Master Shen. Bixia Sect will engrave your great kindness onto our hearts.”
“Sect Leader Zhao is too courteous,” said Shen Qiao.
“There are many matters I must take care of. If Daoist Master Shen has nothing urgent, would you mind resting here in our sect for now? I’ll return to consult you once I’m finished with other affairs.”
The incident had been a great blow to Bixia Sect. Of their notable disciples, only Fan Yuanbai and Zhou Yexue remained and both of them were injured. And then there were the rest, who lay scattered on the ground. It was a truly mournful sight.
The corpses of those disciples had to be cleared away, one by one. It was no easy task.
Shen Qiao expressed his understanding. “Then I’ll impose on you for a couple of days. Once Sect Leader Zhao takes care of more important matters, we can talk.”
Pu Anmi was rather dissatisfied with being ignored. He was about to say something when Zhao Chiying’s sheath struck out and hit his acupoint, successfully shutting him up.
What followed next wasn’t something Shen Qiao could intervene in. He took Shiwu to the guest room. No one was available to serve them, and they couldn’t ask a great and mighty sect leader like Zhao Chiying to bring them tea and water. So the disciple stepped up to the task. Little Shiwu diligently ran in and out the room. Very quickly, he’d boiled Shen Qiao some hot water and returned with a plateful of desserts from the kitchen.
Stuck between laughing and crying, Shen Qiao pulled Shiwu down to sit next to him. “I’m not hungry. You can eat them all.”
Shiwu refused to sit. “I’m not hungry either. Shen-shi must be exhausted after all that fighting. I’ll massage your shoulders!”
Shen Qiao stopped his hand. “Shiwu, are you frightened?”
Shiwu started, then stammered, “No—not at all!”
Shen Qiao stroked the boy’s head. “I might have poor eyesight, but my heart hasn’t gone blind. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that I’ll abandon you?”
The rims of Shiwu’s eyes abruptly went red. He lowered his head—for a long while, he didn’t speak. At last, he said, “I shouldn’t be like this. Shifu wanted me to come to Bixia Sect, and I’m finally here. I should be happy, but the moment I remember that you’re leaving soon, I just feel terribly sad.”
Shen Qiao smiled and sighed. “Silly boy!”
He was about to say something else when the sound of commotion came from outside.
There was no time for careful consideration—Shen Qiao and Shiwu left the room and went to look.
They followed the noise to the back mountain area. It wasn’t far from the rear courtyard they were in, and next to it was Bixia Sect’s library and House of Founders.
Zhao Chiying’s voice drifted to them in a harsh shout. “Ruan Hailou! What are you doing?!”
She was a woman of incredible composure, the sort who wouldn’t flinch if a mountain collapsed right in front of her. The way she’d dealt with everything had left a deep impression on Shen Qiao. But now, something had happened, and it had compromised her level-mindedness. Even her voice cracked.
When Shen Qiao and Shiwu arrived, they saw Ruan Hailou standing at the edge of a cliff, his back to them. He was holding a wooden plaque in his arms.
The mountain wind wailed, buffeting them until they could scarcely open their eyes. Their robes danced and flapped noisily.
Yue Kunchi’s face was pale and green from fury. He looked like he was about to hack up blood. “You Ruan bastard! Put down Shizun’s plaque right now!”
Ruan Hailou didn’t even glance back. He only lowered his head, speaking to the object in his arms. “Hui Leshan, you owed me half a life, yet you fled to an early death. What a skillful calculation!
“I killed countless of your sect’s disciples—you must hate me bitterly for that. But it’s fine, because I’ll repay you with my life. But how are you going to repay the half a life you owe me?!”
He burst into loud laughter, his face tilted toward the sky. His laughter was laced with endless misery.
“Hui Leshan, how cruel you are! How awfully I hate you!”
The moment he’d spoken, he leapt from the cliff.
“Ah!”
Someone watching couldn’t stop themselves from crying out; everyone stood staring, utterly astonished and speechless.