Chapter 28

Fan Wu She's thick and long eyelashes were like the quivering wing feathers of a bird, slowly spreading out.

Xie Bi An looked at him nervously, "Wu She, how are you feeling?"

Fan Wu She looked at Xie Bi An blankly, "... Senior Brother?"

"Senior brother is here."

Fan Wu She quickly spotted Lan Chui Han on the side again. His eyebrows wrinkled and he averted his gaze.

Xie Bi An said in a soft voice, "Wu She, are you unwell anywhere?"

Fan Wu She suddenly remembered what had happened before he fell unconscious and his eyes changed, "How are you? Where is that evil spirit?"

"I'm fine, Master arrived in time to save us." Xie Bi An said guiltily, "It's all because senior brother was too useless and unable ... What are you doing!" He hurriedly pressed down on Fan Wu She who made a move to get up.

The sharp pain in his shoulder made Fan Wu She lay back down with a grimace. He gasped, "What about the evil spirit?"

"The evil spirit has been beaten to death by Alliance Master Li." Lan Chui Han said.

"What?!" Fan Wu She showed his teeth, "Why? Shouldn't the soul be harvested and sent back to the Underworld?"

"Originally, it should have been like this, but Alliance Master Li exerted the Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant, and Master was simply too late to stop it." Xie Bi An glanced at Lan Chui Han, and understood that he too had doubts on this matter.　

"Thunder, Ancestor, Treasure, Grant." Fan Wu She's heart shook. That Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant is Wuliang Sect's magical treasure that is passed down from generations to generations with a status comparable to that of the Wuliang's Sword Manual, and could only be inherited by the Sect Master. Even in his previous life, he would not have dared to directly receive the heavenly thunder because it could strike both the human spirit and the flesh. Taking the Thunder Ancestor's Treasure Grant to beat a wild ghost sounded absurd.

Originally, Fan Wu She suspected that he had mistaken, but now he was almost certain that the evil spirit was Zong Ming He, and only then could he explain Li Bu Yu's abnormality. It was clearly meant to silence him. Perhaps it was Li Bu Yu who had sealed Zong Ming He in that cave; after all, the Li family hated the Zong's guts.

But why did Zong Ming He know Chunyang Sect's Yuanyang Technique? There was no way he could have practiced the Yuanyang technique.

Thinking of Zong Ming He, Fan Wu She's heart was filled with mixed feelings. Despite their eventual breakup, Zong Ming He had been a loving and doting father for more than ten years before he knew he was not his own son. If not for...

"Wu She?" Xie Bi An looked at Fan Wu She whose expression had changed and asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Fan Wu She slowly turned his head and looked at Xie Bi An, at this face that looked exactly like Zong Zi Heng's, and his eyes gradually crawled with blood.

If it wasn't for you.

Xie Bi An was startled by the sinister and ruthless look in his eyes.

Lan Chui Han frowned and almost subconsciously put a hand in front of Xie Bi An, as if it was not a wounded teenager in front of him, but a fierce beast ready to rage.

Fan Wu She lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Get out."

"......"

"I'm tired."

Lan Chui Han's face sank, clearly triggered with anger.

"Okay, you rest well." Xie Bi An hurriedly tugged at Lan Chui Han's sleeve and shook his head. He didn't know if Fan Wu She was blaming himself, or if he was just in a bad mood because he was injured, after all, his junior brother was usually in a violent temper.

As he walked out of the room, Xie Bi An was busy apologizing, "Brother Lan, my junior brother was rude. For the sake of his serious injury, don't take it to heart."

"Is he usually like this?"

"He's not usually like this."

Lan Chui Han said, "It's not right for outsiders to interfere in your master-disciple affairs, but I don't want to see anyone treating you with disrespect."

Xie Bi An laughed, "Brother Lan, you misunderstand, Wu She usually listens to me, he just doesn't stick to etiquette. I will lead him to the right path by being his senior brother."

"It is best to do so." Lan Chui Han looked back at the closed door of the room, "Oops, the ginseng soup I brought you. Forget it, I'll bring you a hot new bowl."

Fan Wu She listened to the sound of the two's footsteps fading away, waved his hand and knocked the ginseng soup on the bed to the ground, then covered his eyes.

-----

After two days of recuperation, Xie Bi An had basically recovered. He wanted to go see Fan Wu She several times, but remembered that he had been kicked out that day, so he backed off.

At this time, he was stretching his muscles in the courtyard. He looked frequently at the door of Fan Wu She's room, hesitating.

At the right moment, Lan Chui Han came to visit him again and brought a message.

"The elders of Chunyang Sect have arrived?"

"Yeah, they are deliberating and will be going to see the corpse soon. Bi An, do you want to come along?"

"Sure, let's go."

Suddenly, the door to Fan Wu She's room creaked open. His eyes were clear and his face had a bit more color in it. It wasn’t as pale and weak as it had been two days before.

"Wu She? Why did you come out? You still need a few more days to recuperate from your injuries."

"I'm fine." Fan Wu She said, "You are going to see that evil spirit? I want to go too."

"... Alright."

Fan Wu She walked over and stood directly between the two.

Lan Chui Han raised an eyebrow.

Xie Bi An didn't pay attention and was only concerned about Fan Wu She's injuries on the way.

The evil spirit's corpse was placed in the ice cellar, and when they arrived, Li Bu Yu, Zhong Kui and the guests from the various sects had all arrived.

There was an unfamiliar face in the crowd; his temples were laced with snow, but his features were those of a young and strong man, with a tall and robust body, quite heroic.

Zhong Kui introduced him, "This is Elder Zhaowen of Chunyang Sect."

"Junior greets Elder Zhaowen." The three of them said in unison.

"There is no need to be polite."

"Elder Zhaowen, please take a closer look." Li Bu Yu said, "If it is a cultivator from Chunyang Sect, you should be able to tell from the physical appearance, right?"

"To respond to Alliance Master Li, indeed." Zhaowen lifted the cover cloth on the corpse and looked at it carefully.

The hearts of all the people were a little uneasy.

After some time, Zhaowen sighed and said, "When Heaven Master sent the news to our sect, I immediately summoned several elders to deliberate, and no one could remember any elders or high-ranking cultivators who had died and whose corpses had gone missing. At least not for nearly a hundred years for sure. If it was further away, we would have to ask the Chief’s senior brother, but he had been in seclusion for ten years and do not know when he will come out." He looked at the corpse, "I’ve checked the corpse and am even more certain that this was not a cultivator of Chunyang Sect. His physique, muscles, bones, there is no trace of having practiced my sect's techniques."

Zhong Kui wondered, "Then why was he able to regenerate his severed limbs?"

Zhaowen shook his head, feeling uncertain. He picked up the severed hand he had taken off Fan Wu She's shoulder and compared it with the newly grown hand of the corpse, "It is indeed regenerated. I am also puzzled. To be able to give birth to a new limb, one must have cultivated the Yuanyang technique to at least the seventh level, but this man's body, there are no special features."

Both Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She looked at each other, both of them thinking about one thing, that is, if it wasn't for this severed hand, they’re afraid no one would believe them.

The matter was so strange that the crowd murmured quietly.

Zhong Kui said, "His core was dug out and was sealed by the Big Dipper Zhengji Demon Binding Formation on the Diancang Peak without the knowledge of the entire Wuliang Sect. It has been a very long time for such strange things to happen in the cultivational world. First, the death of Alliance Master Li's nephew by a core stealing demonic cultivator, and then this evil spirit seriously injuring my two disciples. These two events may seem unrelated, but I don't think any of you present could dismiss them as pure coincidence."

Voices of agreement rang out one after another.

Lan Chui Han said, "Junior has a hypothesis."

"Chui Han, what is it?"

"Junior suspects that this evil spirit died a hundred years ago, in the time of Emperor Zong."

These words did not surprise anyone. When core theft was put together with the Big Dipper Zhengji Demon Binding Formation, anyone would think of the Supreme Demon Zong Zi Xiao. Moreover, this evil spirit was so powerful in life that no ordinary person could harm him, but it happened to look like Zong Zi Xiao's prey.

"It is highly likely." Zhaowen said, "Perhaps this person was killed by the Supreme Demon and was suppressed here?"

Zhong Kui said, "Zhaowen, could you ask your Sect Leader to come out early?"

Zhaowen replied, "Heaven Master, first allow me to go back and check the history of the sect. If he is really from the Chunyang Sect and died in the wrong way, there should be a record of it, but I still think that this person is not from our sect."

"There is no trace of having practiced the Yuanyang technique, yet he can exert it ..." muttered Song Chun Gui, "Why is that so ah?"

When no one was paying attention, Fan Wu She walked towards the corpse at some point and lifted up his tattered clothes to take a closer look.

"Wu She." Xie Bi An called out in a small voice, "What are you doing?"

"Curious." Fan Wu She said with an expressionless face.

"Don't make a mess, stand down." Zhong Kui said.

Fan Wu She had already seen what he wanted to see. On this corpse, he found a familiar birthmark. Although he had guessed it before, there was still a hint of doubt in his heart, and at this moment, he could finally be sure that this man was indeed Zong Ming He.

He then had the same question as everyone else present: Zong Ming He; why was he able to use the Yuanyang technique?

Li Bu Yu, who had been silent for a long time, said: "This matter happened in Wuliang Sect. If we do not investigate it clearly, our sect will not be able to explain it to the people of the world, and I will do my best to trace it. This corpse will be stored here for the time being, and if there are any clues, we will share them as soon as possible, okay?"

Zhong Kui wrinkled his nose and said nonchalantly, "If Alliance Master Li hadn't beaten him up in a fit of rage, I would have found out the truth long ago.

Under the sky, only Zhong Kui dared to talk to Li Bu Yu like this. The scene suddenly became so quiet that the drop of a needle could be heard.

Li Bu Yu said without changing his face, "Zheng Nan is right, I was impulsive, my sect will find out the truth."

After leaving the ice cellar, several people had their own thoughts.

"Why don't I go to Chunyang Sect myself." Zhong Kui said to himself.

"If that person is really from Chunyang Sect, Elder Zhaowen will be able to find out, but if not, it would be useless for you to go." Xie Bi An said, "Why don't we wait for a while?"

"Perhaps regenerating a severed limb is not something that only the Yuanyang technique can do. There are plenty of capable people in the world." Lan Chui Han said.

"Having said that, I really haven't heard of any other martial cultivators who could do it anymore." Zhong Kui asked, "Have you guys ever heard of it?"

Several people shook their heads.

"Sigh, so vexing, I don't want to think about it anymore today." Zhong Kui scratched his hair, "Bi An, take your junior brother back to rest well. Don't run around anymore, get well from your injuries."

"Yes."

When only Xie Bi An and Fan Wu She were left, Fan Wu She looked at the Eight Trigrams Platform in the distance and fell into deep thought.

Back then, it was on this Eight Trigrams Platform that Zong Zi Heng killed his father and killed the king, usurping the emperor's throne, a matter known to the whole world.

Could it be that Li Bu Yu was present at that time and sealed him in the cave after Zong Ming He's death? But if Li Bu Yu was there, wouldn't he have stopped Zong Zi Heng? It's true that the Li family hated the Zongs, but they were just as keen on the throne.

Also, who dug up Zong Ming He’s core? Was it dug out during his life, or after his death? If it was dug before he died, who ate it?

After a hundred years, he thought the dust had settled. He never thought he would have to face the unsolved mystery of his past life. His instincts told him that there was a hidden conspiracy in this matter.

"Wu She?" Xie Bi An also followed his gaze to the Eight Trigrams Platform, "What are you looking at? Shall we go back?"

Fan Wu She returned to his senses, his gaze falling on Xie Bi An, his eyes unblinking as he looked at him.

Xie Bi An looked at him in uncertainty.

Fan Wu She suddenly said with a dark face, "Why have you been ignoring me for the past two days."

 

 ----

PS: Tadaaaa~~ Zong Zi Xiao isn’t Zong Ming He’s son, so who’s SZX’s biological father……

 

Edited on 21 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

 

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