Chapter 86: Loyalty—Part Eight

Wei WuXian, “Then is there any proof for your words?”

Sisi hesitated for a moment, “No, but if I lie even a little bit, I swear my corpse will rot and I won’t have a coffin to lie in!”

Sect Leader Yao immediately commented, “With such clear details, he is definitely not lying!”

Lan QiRen’s brow furrowed. He turned to the woman beside him, “I think I’ve seen you before.”

The woman’s face was filled with panic, “I think… I think you did it.”

Everyone was speechless in shock. The side of a prostitute—could this woman be a prostitute too? Then why did Lan QiRen say he had seen her before?

The woman, “During the YuelingQin Sect Discussion Conference, I often accompanied my mistress.”

“YuelingQin Sect?” A female cultivator asked, “You are a girl from YuelingQin Sect?”

The sharper-eyed one immediately called out her name, “You’re… Bicao, Madam Qin’s personal maid, Bicao! Right?”

The Madam Qin he was referring to was Qin Cangye’s wife, and also Qin Su’s biological mother, Jin Guangyao’s wife. The woman nodded, “But I’m no longer in the Qin Sect.”

Sect Leader Yao was overjoyed, standing up and slamming his table, “Do you also have something to tell us?”

With red eyes, Bicao began, “What I am about to tell you happened a little earlier, about a dozen years ago.

I have served Madam for many years. I watched our Lady A-Su grow up. Madam has always doted on Maiden Su, but as Maiden Su was about to get married, Madam was in a very bad mood. She had nightmares while sleeping and sometimes cried while awake. I thought she was just having a hard time letting go of Maiden Su, since Maiden Su was about to get married. I kept comforting her by telling her that the man she was going to marry, LianFang-Zun Jin GuangYao, was not only talented but also affectionate and loyal. Maiden Su would live a very good life. However, after Madam heard this, she became even worse.

As the wedding day approached, one night, Madam suddenly told me that she was going to meet Miss Su’s future husband, and she was leaving right now, wanting me to accompany her in secret. I said, “You can ask her to meet you. Why are you secretly meeting a young man in the middle of the night?” If others heard this, who knows what the rumors would be like. However, Madam was determined, so I had to go with her. However, after we arrived, Madam told me to wait outside and not go in, which is why I didn’t hear anything, and I don’t know exactly what she said to Jin GuangYao. I only know that a few days later, when Miss Su’s wedding date was set, Madam fainted upon seeing the invitation letter. And after Miss Su got married, Madam was still very depressed. Her heart ached, and her illness worsened day by day. Before she died, she couldn’t bear it any longer and told me everything.

Bicao said tearfully, “LianFang-Zun Jin GuangYao and our girl, they were never husband and wife—they were brother and sister…”

“What?!”

Even if thunder exploded in the Sword Hall, the shock wouldn’t be this great. Qin Su’s pale face appeared before Wei WuXian’s eyes. 

Bicao, “My Mistress is truly unfortunate… Sect Leader Jiang is a scoundrel. He was infatuated with my Mistress’s looks, and once forced himself on her while drunk outside… How could she possibly refuse? She didn’t dare say anything afterward, either. My Master was extremely loyal to Jin GuangShan, so she was extremely afraid. Jin GuangShan might not remember whose daughter Maiden Qin was, but my Mistress would never forget. She didn’t dare speak to Jin GuangShan, knowing that Maiden Qin loved Jin GuangYao deeply. After a long struggle, she finally went to see him secretly before the wedding and told him some things, begging him to cancel the marriage before things got out of hand. Who knew… Who knew that Jin GuangYao would marry Maiden Su even though he knew that Maiden Su was his younger sister!”

What’s even scarier is that not only did he marry her, they even had a child together!

This is truly the scandal of the century!

The discussions in the crowd grew louder. “How long has Old Sect Leader Qin been following Jin GuangShan? How dare he touch his former subordinate’s wife. Damn that Jin GuangShan!”

“So it seems nothing can be kept secret for too long in this world…”

For Jin GuangYao to gain a firm foothold in the LanlingJin Sect, he needed the support of his father-in-law, Qin CangYe, as his backbone. How could he possibly choose not to marry her?

“He is truly the most immoral person in the entire world!”

Wei WuXian whispered to Lan WangJi, “So that’s why in the secret room he said to Qin Su, ‘A-Song must die.’”

In the Sword Hall, several other people were also thinking about A-Song. Sect Leader Yao, “From this, I dare to guess that his son was not killed by someone else, but by his own hands.”

“And why is that?”

Sect Leader Yao analyzed, “Most children born to close siblings end up being idiots. Jin RuSong was only a few years old when he died, right at the age where young children are starting to learn. Others wouldn’t notice anything wrong when the child was young, but once he grew up, it would reveal the fact that he was different from the others. Even if they didn’t doubt the relationship between his parents, if a stupid child were actually born, others would inevitably blame Jin GuangYao, saying that such a child was born only because he had the dirty blood of a prostitute.”

Everyone found this quite convincing, “How sharp, Sect Leader Yao!”

Sect Leader Yao continued, “And the person who killed Jin RuSong happened to be the sect leader who opposed the construction of the watchtower—how could such a coincidence be possible?” He snorted, “In any case, Jin GuangYao didn’t need to keep a son who was likely to be an idiot. He killed Jin RuSong, framed the sect leader who opposed him, and fought against the sects who rejected him justly, all in the name of avenging his son—although cruel, he killed two birds with one stone. Great tactics, LianFang-Zun!”

Suddenly, Wei WuXian turned to Bicao, “The night of the Koi Tower Discussion Conference, you saw Qin Su, right?”

Bicao paused for a moment. 

Wei WuXian, “That night, in the Fragrant Palace, Qin Su and Jin GuangYao had a big argument. She said she went to see someone, that person told her some things and gave her a letter, and that person definitely wouldn’t lie to her. Was the person she was talking about you?”

Bicao, “Ya.”

Wei WuXian, “How long have you been keeping this secret? Why did you suddenly decide to tell him? And why did you suddenly decide to make all of this public?”

Bicao, “Because… I have to let Miss Qin know what her husband is like. Originally, I didn’t want to make it public either, but because of Mrs. Qin’s inexplicable suicide in Koi Tower, I have to expose this demon’s true face to seek justice for both Mrs. Qin and Miss Qin.”

Wei WuXian smiled, “But haven’t you ever thought about how devastated she was after you told her? Or did you really not know? That she committed suicide because you went to tell Qin Su about this matter?”

Bicao, “I…” 

Sect Leader Yao criticized, “This is impossible for me to agree to. Is hiding the truth really right?”

Instantly, someone helped her up, “Others can’t be blamed… Madam… Qin Su is still too fragile.”

Several older female cultivators chimed in, “Qin Su is truly pitiful.”

I even used to envy her. I thought she truly had a good life. She had a good birth and marriage, the only mistress in Koi Tower, and her husband was so loyal. But who knew? Tsk, tsk.

One mother commented in a nonchalant tone, “That’s why these seemingly beautiful things are often full of holes beneath the surface. There’s nothing to be jealous of at all.”

Wei WuXian,  Perhaps it was precisely because of these people who commented happily yet filled with pity that Qin Su decided to commit suicide.

She looked down and saw the jade and gold bracelet on Bicao’s wrist. It was of the highest quality. It was definitely not something a servant could wear. She smiled, “It’s a nice bracelet.”

Bicao hurriedly pulled up his sleeve. He didn’t say anything.

Nie HuaiSang still looked confused, “But… But who exactly… was the person who sent those two here?”

Sect Leader Yao, “Why worry about this?! Whoever he is, there is one thing we can be sure of—he is a just man and will definitely be on our side.”

Immediately a voice of agreement was heard, “Absolutely!”

However, Wei WuXian disagreed, “The person who saved Maiden Sisi is indeed extraordinary. Rich, and has plenty of time. But a just man? That’s not necessarily true.”

Lan WangJi, “There are many suspicious things.”

If Wei WuXian had said this, perhaps not many people would have paid attention, but since it was Lan WangJi who spoke, the crowd immediately fell silent. Lan QiRen, “And where are those points?”

Wei WuXian, “There are enough of them now. For example, with how cruel Jin GuangYao is, why would he let Sisi live after killing over twenty people? Now we have witnesses, but what about the material evidence?”

He always voiced opinions that differed from the others, a stark contrast to the impassioned speeches in the crowd. Some people seemed deeply offended. 

Sect Leader Yao said loudly, “This is called the Heavenly Net, it has large meshes, but nothing undesirable can enter.”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian smiled, and stopped talking.

He knew that right now, no one would accept his words. No one would consider his suspicions carefully. A few more words, and perhaps others would start to position themselves against him again. If it were ten years ago, he wouldn’t have cared about others at all. He would say whatever he wanted, and others would have to listen to him whether they wanted to or not. However, now, Wei WuXian no longer had any interest in being the center of attention in this way.

And so, the wave of criticism began:

“Who knew this guy could be so ungrateful and immoral!”

In recent years, the words “ungrateful” and “immoral” had almost always been associated with Wei WuXian. At first, he even thought they were criticizing him again. He only realized later that although the same people were using the same words, the object of their criticism had changed. He felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Soon, someone said, “Back then, Jin GuangYao was able to climb one rank after another just by pretending to be ChiFeng-Zun and ZeWu-Jun. Otherwise, how could a son of a bitch like him have gotten to where he is now? How dare he touch ChiFeng-Zun! ZeWu-Jun is still with him now. Let’s hope nothing happens to him!”

Initially, no one believed that ChiFeng-Zun’s death, the dismembered corpse incident, and the siege of the corpses at Burial Mound were all related to Jin GuangYao. Now, everyone suddenly believed it.

Not only his adopted brother, but his biological brothers had it even worse. In the years before Jin GuangShan’s death, he had been busy eliminating his father’s illegitimate children, fearing that someone would suddenly appear and take his place. Even Mo XuanYu wasn’t that bad. If it weren’t for his loss of reason and being forced back, he might have ended up like the others, disappearing for some reason.

“Jin ZiXuan’s death must have something to do with it too!”

“Does anyone still remember Xiao XingChen from back then? Xiao XingChen, the bright moon, the gentle breeze. And the YueyangChang Sect case. Back then, Xue Yang was also protected solely by LianFang-Zun!”

When Daozhang Xiao XingChen first came down the mountain, didn’t many sects want him to be a guest cultivator in their establishments? The LanlingJin Sect also invited him, but he politely declined. At the time, the Jin Sect was quite pleased with itself. Being rejected by a rogue cultivator certainly felt like a loss of face. This old enmity must be one of the reasons they protected Xue Yang in the future as well. They just had to see Xiao XingChen end up in a terrible state, huh?

“Huh! What do they think they are? Just wait until they join our sect?”

“What a pity. Back then, I was fortunate to witness Daozhang Xiao XingChen’s prowess in night hunting with my own eyes. His sword, Shuanghua, could shake the entire world.”

“After that, Jin GuangYao still got rid of Xue Yang. It’s truly cruel for a dog to bite its own dog.”

I heard that when Jin GuangYao went undercover in the QishanWen Sect, he wasn’t sincere at all. His thinking was this: if the Sunshot Campaign didn’t go well, he would stay in the Wen Sect and help the villain; if the Wen Sect were to collapse, he would turn around and become a hero.

“Wen RuoHan has probably gone mad in the Underworld. Back then, he trained Jin GuangYao as one of his trusted cultivators. Almost all of Jin GuangYao’s current sword skills were taught to him by Wen RuoHan!”

“It’s not a big deal, is it? I heard that the reason ChiFeng-Zun failed the surprise attack was because he deliberately sent out false information!”

“I’ll also tell you a secret. The money and resources he used to build the watchtower were all collected from other sects, right? Every sect contributed as well. I heard he secretly took… this amount.”

“Oh my God… So many? He’s truly shameless. I thought he was genuinely trying to do good back then. All our sincerity was fed to the dogs!”

Wei WuXian found the whole thing rather amusing.  If it was a rumor, why were you in such a rush to believe it? If it was a secret, why did you have to know about it?

These rumors didn’t just happen overnight. However, in the past, when Jin GuangYao was popular, these rumors were fairly well-suppressed. Almost no one took them seriously. However, tonight, all of those rumors seemed to have become absolute truth, forming a series of crimes against Jin GuangYao, proving his lack of morality.

From this perspective, this man killed his father, his brother, his wife, his son, his employer, his friend… and even committed incest. What a horror!

The LanlingJin Sect is extremely arrogant, and Jin GuangYao is even more arrogant. He never listens to others’ opinions. This current climate of pampering and arrogance was also created by Jin GuangYao himself. Does he really think we’ll hold back our anger?!”

“He has probably decided to get rid of us all now because he feels threatened by the growing power of the other sects, afraid that he will be overthrown like the Wen Sect, right?”

Sect Leader Yao sneered, “Then let’s make what he fears most come true.” He slammed his table, “Attack the Koi Tower!”

Amidst the cheers of the hall, Wei WuXian thought, “  Before today, he was still the LianFang-Zun everyone praised. It’s only been a day, and everyone wants to beat him up.”

Suddenly, someone turned around, “Master Wei, Jin GuangYao already holds the Tiger Seal. We entrust this matter to you.”

Wei WuXian, “Hah?”

He hadn’t expected someone to come and speak to him of their own accord, even so enthusiastically, calling him “Mr. Wei” instead of a derogatory term like “Wei-dog.” He hesitated for a moment. 

Instantly, another sect leader followed suit, “That’s right! There’s no one higher than the YiLing Patriarch on this path of cultivation!”

“Now things are looking bad for Jin GuangYao, hahahaha…”

Wei WuXian immediately felt somewhat speechless. The last time anyone praised him like this was during the Sunshot Campaign more than ten years ago. Although someone had finally inherited his position as the enemy of the entire cultivation world, Wei WuXian felt no joy at such an ending, much less the warmth of finally being accepted by everyone. 

He just hesitated silently, “  In the past, could it have been the same as today? A group of people gathered in one place, started a secret discussion, condemned everything, and finally decided to besiege the Burial Mound?”

After the discussion concluded, preparations were completed in the YunmengJiang Sect’s banquet hall. However, just as the banquet began, two figures disappeared. 

One of the sect leaders pondered, “Why did Wei… Patriarch YiLing and HanGuang-Jun disappear?”

Sitting in the front seat, Jiang Cheng asked the guest cultivator beside him, “Where are they?”

Guest cultivator: “The two of them went to change their clothes after leaving the inner hall. They said they wouldn’t be attending the banquet—they wanted to take a short walk and would come back later.”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Same as before, without any manners.”

This seemed to be true for Lan WangJi as well. Displeasure was evident on Lan QiRen’s face. If Lan WangJi didn’t have manners, there wouldn’t be any manners in this world. With that thought in mind, he began to gnash his teeth at Wei WuXian again.

On the other hand, Jiang Cheng straightened his expression and said politely, “Everyone, please eat first. I’ll invite you two back later.”

Outside the Lotus Pier, before the pier, Lan WangJi followed Wei WuXian’s footsteps. He also didn’t ask where they were going. The two walked around freely.

There were several street vendors on the pier. Wei WuXian walked over, took a look, and then smiled, “It’s a good thing we’re not eating with them. Lan Zhan, come here, come here. The pies are delicious. It’s my treat! Can we have two?”

With a grin, the vendor wrapped two pies in parchment paper. Just as Wei WuXian was about to take them, he suddenly remembered that he didn’t have any money with him. How could he treat him? However, Lan WangJi had already taken over, paying with his other hand. 

Wei WuXian, “Uh-oh, sorry. Why is it always like this? It seems like every time I want to treat you, it always fails.”

Lan WangJi, “It’s okay.”

Wei WuXian took a bite. “Back then, I didn’t even have to pay when I ate at the docks. I’d take whatever I wanted, eat whatever I wanted; they’d run after me, walk while they ate. A month later, the vendor would get the money back from Uncle Jiang.”

Lan WangJi left a moon-shaped hole in the round pie, “Now, you don’t have to pay either.”

Wei WuXian, “Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

He finished it in a few bites, then crumpled the paper into a ball, throwing it in his hand as he looked around, “There aren’t many vendors left. In the past, no matter how late it was, this place was packed with vendors selling all kinds of food, because many people at Lotus Pier came for late-night snacks. There were also a lot of boats, maybe even more than your Caiyi Town.” He continued, “Now there are a lot fewer. Lan Zhan, you came here too late. You didn’t come here when the town was bustling.”

Lan WangJi, “It’s not too late.”

Wei WuXian grinned, “When we were studying in the Cloud Recesses, I asked you to play in Yunmeng many times, and you always ignored me. I should have been more assertive and dragged you along. Why are you so slow? Doesn’t it feel good?”

Lan WangJi, “Talking is prohibited while eating.”

He always chewed slowly when eating. If he had to talk, he made sure there was no food in his mouth. Wei WuXian, “Then I won’t talk to you. Just eat. I thought you wouldn’t like it, and you can give me whatever you don’t finish.”

Lan WangJi turned to the vendor, “One more, please.”

Finally, after Wei WuXian had finished all three pies, Lan WangJi still took a bite of the first one. Wei WuXian had already led him further and further away from Lotus Pier. As he walked, he pointed here and there for Wei WuXian to see.

He longed to show Lan WangJi all the places where he grew up, played, and had fun, telling him about the troubles he caused, the fights he got into, the pheasants he caught, and then observing the slightest changes in Lan WangJi’s expression, eagerly anticipating his every reaction.

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan! Look at me, look at that tree.”

Lan WangJi also finished his pie. He folded the paper into a neat little square and held it up while looking at Wei WuXian. The tree was just an ordinary tree. Its trunk was straight and its branches spread out. It must have been several decades old. Wei WuXian stood beneath the tree and walked around it a few times, patting the trunk. “I’ve climbed this tree before.”

Lan WangJi, “You have climbed every tree on our way here.”

Wei WuXian, “But this one is different! It’s the first one I climbed after arriving at Lotus Pier. I climbed it in the middle of the night. My shijie came out looking for me, holding a lantern. She was afraid I’d fall from the tree, so she prepared to catch me on the ground. But what could she catch with her small, skinny arms? And still, one of my legs was broken.”

Looking at his feet, Lan WangJi asked, “Why did you climb the tree at night?”

Wei WuXian laughed out loud, “No reason. You know. I like playing outside at night. Haha.”