Chapter 148

The Wuliang Sect and the Chunyang Sect have had occasional contacts over the years, so Xu Zhi Nan's visit was not surprising. The Wuliang Sect cultivators were curious about the mysterious man beside him with a mili covering his face, but no one dared to ask.

It was only when Li Bu Yu was left alone in the room that Zong Zi Heng showed his true face.

"Emperor?!" Li Bu Yu said in surprise, "Since the Emperor is coming here, why didn't you inform me? The whole of Wuliang Sect is unprepared ..."

"No need, I came here for the matter that I told you last time, so naturally I have to keep it a secret."

Li Bu Yu said with understanding, "In the end, Emperor plans to come and personally move Consort Shen's tomb."

"I kept thinking, it would be greatly unfilial if an outsider were to handle it, and this matter needs to be done as soon as possible when Zong Zi Xiao is in Kunlun."

"How dare Bu Yu delay what the Emperor has instructed? When I returned to Wuliang Sect the day before yesterday, I had already started to prepare. The preparation is almost completed." Li Bu Yu glanced at Xu Zhi Nan and said with a smile, "But I didn’t know Immortal Lord Xu would also come. Is it possible that the Emperor is uncertain about my work?"

Xu Zhi Nan looked at Li Bu Yu with an insincere smile.

"I cannot expose my identity, and with many chores around, I naturally needed someone." Zong Zi Heng said, "Since it is almost ready, when can we break ground?"

"According to the Chinese divination almanac, tomorrow is an auspicious day."

"Okay, tomorrow."

"Emperor and Immortal Lord Xu shall have a good rest today. Please forgive me if our Sect does not provide proper hospitality."

"Just do as you please, and do not disclose anything."

"Yes." Li Bu Yu added, "You must be tired, why don't you go and take a bath in the hot spring? The water from the Mandarin Duck Pond on Mount Shu can improve blood circulation and heal the body."

"No need." Zong Zi Heng was not in that kind of mood.

Li Bu Yu advised, "Emperor, your chakra has been sealed by Zong Zi Xiao for a long time, do you feel dry and sluggish when running your spiritual energy? The Mandarin Duck Pond can greatly nourish your chakra and help you recover as soon as possible."

Zong Zi Heng was persuaded. He had indeed felt unwell during this journey with his sword, and the Mandarin Duck Pond of Mount Shu was a world-famous spiritual hot spring. Because the cave of Wuliang Sect was located near there, which could be used to nourish and strengthen the body of both cultivators and ordinary people.

"Alright, you arrange it."

---

Li Bu Yu arranged for servant girls to serve Zong Zi Heng in the bath, but they were all dismissed by him. His body was covered with the old and new overlapping lust marks left by Zong Zi Xiao, and he could not be seen by anyone.

The moment Zong Zi Heng dipped his body into the Mandarin Duck Pond, he was enveloped in the warm spring water. He let out a sigh of comfort. The fatigue he had accumulated over the past few months was slowly dissipating, and his blocked chakra was becoming more and more cleared under the nourishment of the spring water.

The Mandarin Duck Pond was indeed not a name in vain.

Zong Zi Heng closed his eyes and adjusted his breath, causing his spiritual energy to run for a small period of time, and his body became much more energized.

He wiped his arms with a moist cloth towel. When he looked at the bruises and marks on his body, he felt humiliated and angry. Is Zong Zi Xiao an animal? Always sucking and biting on him, and cumming inside him every time. Only an animal would scratch its territory like that.

When thinking about Zong Zi Xiao, he was worried about Qi Meng Sheng again. At this time, Zong Zi Xiao should have reached Fenglin continent. The survival of the Cangyu Sect affected the hearts of everyone in the immortal cultivation world. Although this foreign sect outside of Guanzhou had always been excluded by the sects of the Central Plains, without Cangyu Sect, their hope of defeating Zong Zi Xiao would be even slimmer.

Zong Zi Heng was so worried that he was unaware of anyone approaching, until he heard a very faint sound that jolted him awake: "Who’s there!?"

The mist in the Mandarin Duck Pond was so thick that he could not see anyone from a distance, but he could vaguely see a black shadow flashing through the white mist. There were thousands of large and small springs here, and the few that were enclosed were only accessible to the Li family. He was here, and there were guards outside, so it was impossible for a subordinate or disciple to enter by mistake, so someone had deliberately snuck in.

Zong Zi Heng flew up ashore, picked up his bathrobe with his scabbard, draped it over his body, and quickly chased after him.

That black shadow quickly faded within the weapon, but Zong Zi Heng could not be gotten rid of easily. He released several long and thin strands of spiritual breath, probing in several directions where the black shadow was fleeing, and soon got a response. He chased after it: "How dare you! Stop right there!" He did not know what the other party wanted, but he would not let go of any clues related to Zong Ming He's death.

The man's cultivation was not shallow, and Zong Zi Heng chased him all the way out of the Mandarin Duck Pond, but still failed to catch up with him.

When the guards saw Zong Zi Heng chasing with his clothes unkempt and his hair long, they were shocked: "Zhen Ren! Could there be an assassin? Someone come, there's an assassin!"

The guarding cultivators did not know who he was, but only knew that he was an honored guest of the sect leader Immortal Lord.

Zong Zi Heng frowned as he patrolled the surrounding area, "Keep quiet. Go and call Li ... Immortal Lord here"

Li Bu Yu soon arrived. He instructed the guards to deploy more men to search for the assassin, not letting any spring go unsearched, but at the same time he admonished, "Do not make any noise."

"Yes, sect leader."

After the people dispersed, Li Bu Yu walked up to Zong Zi Heng's side, his face looking very unsightly: "Emperor has been frightened. The first time Emperor has come to Wuliang Sect and you've encountered an assassin. I simply have no face to show the Emperor."

"It’s nothing. That person may not have meant to assassinate me. Maybe he just got lost." Zong Zi Heng stroked a handful of his wet hair, squeezing out a lot of water.

"What the Emperor said is that there are too many springs in the Mandarin Duck Pond, he could be unintentionally ..." Li Bu Yu looked at Zong Zi Heng's loose lapel, his white skin soaked with hot spring water which made it look soft and pink, and there were still undried water droplets reflecting a moist shimmer. His robust chest was stamped with spots of red marks, which were extraordinarily eye-catching. He was so distracted that he lost his words for a moment.

The rest of Zong Zi Heng's gaze seemed to notice Li Bu Yu's gaze, and when he raised his eyes, he caught Li Bu Yu's hastily shifting eyes. He suddenly remembered something, wrinkled his brows and gathered his sash.

Li Bu Yu arched his hand and said, "If the Emperor still wants to continue soaking, Bu Yu will deploy more guards, or ..."

"No need, I'm going back to rest." Zong Zi Heng's heart was so full of suspicion that he did not want to stay here even for one more moment. He was about to leave when he happened to look down and noticed that the hem of Li Bu Yu's robe was stained with water.

The path was paved with dense cobblestones, so even if there was water, it would only be caught in the cracks of the stones. If one walks normally, he will only wet the soles of his shoes, and he will not be able to make a splash without a big movement.

Zong Zi Heng remained calm and collected, and turned around, his face looking extremely grim.

There were not many people who could escape from his trail, and even fewer who knew he was here. If that person had really intruded by mistake and did not know who he was, why would he feel guilty and run away?

That black shadow was most likely Li Bu Yu.

But why would Li Bu Yu sneak into the Mandarin Duck Pond? Did he really want to assassinate him?

No, this possibility was quickly dismissed by Zong Zi Heng. Not to mention that Li Bu Yu had great respect for him and had even saved his life. Even if Li Bu Yu really wanted to assassinate him for some reason --- for example, Li Bu Yu also knew the secret of the Absolute Human Emperor --- he should not have done it at this time, Li Bu Yu was no match for him. He could not defeat the entire Wuliang Sect, but with him and Xu Zhi Nan, it would be more than enough to escape.

If Li Bu Yu did not intend to assassinate him, why did he sneak into the Mandarin Duck Pond while he was bathing?

Zong Zi Heng thought so much but still couldn’t understand, and he could only put it aside, but his suspicion towards Li Bu Yu grew even stronger, and he became even more convinced that there must be something else about the deaths of Zong Ming He and Shen Shi Yao.

---       

Late at night, Zong Zi Heng and Xu Zhi Nan met as promised. They planned to infiltrate the guest house where Zong Ming He died. Although it was almost ten years ago and it was unlikely that anything had been left behind, they had no other clues to start with until they saw Shen Shi Yao's body.

Zong Zi Heng found the pavilion from memory.

Back then, the late emperor and the noble concubine had both perished here, and the hostility was so strong that the Wuliang Sect had performed a memorial service here for three days and nights. After that, it had been abandoned.

The pavilion was dilapidated and decaying, overgrown with weeds, and emitting an ominous aura. The remnants of the formations painted during the purification process could still be seen on the ground.

The two of them unlocked the boundaries of this place silently.

Xu Zhi Nan pushed open the door and stepped in first, while Zong Zi Heng's toes pressed against the threshold. The immense fear and pain were like two ghostly hands gripping his ankles, and he did not have the courage to walk in.

Zong Zi Heng thought this was a place he would never set foot in again for the rest of his life; if hell had a name, it would be here.

He shuddered and lifted his thousand-pound feet.

Back then he had not been able to cross this high threshold. He, who had been able to fly with his sword at the age of six, had tripped and fallen to the ground in a panic, with his father dipped in a pool of blood and his mother hanging from the roof beam. Since that moment, he had fallen into a lifelong nightmare from which he could not wake up from.

Just by standing here, his throat was tightly strangled by an invisible hand, and every gasp of breath was filled with boundless pain.

Xu Zhi Nan said softly, "Emperor, why don't you wait outside?"

Zong Zi Heng shook his head stiffly, gritted his teeth and stepped through the door.

A thick layer of dust and cobwebs had accumulated inside the house, making it almost impossible to see the original appearance and naturally impossible to find any clues.

Zong Zi Heng eventually stood under a beam, and before his eyes emerged Shen Shi Yao's body hanging there, swaying slightly. Back then, it was as if he had been drained of his soul, unable to cry or scream, like an outsider watching Li Bu Yu handle the funeral arrangement with cold eyes.

Only he knew that a part of him had died along with her.

Xu Zhi Nan came to his side and asked cautiously, "Is this the right place?"

Zong Zi Heng stiffened like a stone.

Xu Zhi Nan hesitated for a moment, and with a point of his toes, jumped up onto the high beam. He squeezed out a wind spell, blowing away the ash that had accumulated on the beam over the years.

Zong Zi Heng also came back to his senses. He took a deep breath to calm his mind: "Have you found anything?"

"You come up and take a look."

Zong Zi Heng could only jump up.

Xu Zhi Nan pointed to an old, shallow scuff mark on the beam, "Emperor, dare I ask if this is ..."

"... Yes."

"It’s indeed suspicious." Xu Zhi Nan said, "Emperor, what I say next may offend Consort Shen."

"Just say it."

"A person who hangs herself will definitely struggle when it comes to life and death. No matter how determined she is to go, survival is a human instinct, so the position where the white silk wraps around the beam, it will often leave a mark of repeated rubbing." Xu Zhi Nan pointed to the rubbing mark, "But this mark is very flat. It looks like it is just an indentation left by the weight, so I'm afraid at that time, Consort Shen was ... "

Zong Zi Heng's eyes turned black instantly.

That year, he was only twenty-one years old. After experiencing a rebellion against his younger brother, being seriously injured by his own father and nearly froze to death in Kunlun, a duel to the death between father and son, and finally, the tragic death of his mother who killed her father and then died terribly in front of him, he broke down.

So he didn't look deeper into the cause of his parent's death, and didn't suspect Li Bu Yu, who had always helped him and comforted him, not realizing that the evil of the human heart is even more devilish than evil spirits.

----

Edited on 2 May. 21 (Emzie)

 

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