Chapter 150

When Li Bu Yu was summoned, he felt anxious. Both Zong Zi Heng and Xu Zhi Nan's sudden visit and the request to open the coffin were very strange, and he vaguely saw a crisis floating around.

He was even warier when Zong Zi Heng summoned him to a certain place in Yunlai Peak alone.

Zong Zi Heng stood on the edge of the broken cliff with his back to Li Bu Yu, looking at the immortal clouds entangling around Mount Shu with his heart thumping. He adjusted his emotions and facial expression before turning around and looking at Li Bu Yu with a peaceful expression, "Bu Yu, these days have been hard on you, my mother can finally sleep in peace in her hometown, and I can be at ease now."

"It is a supreme honor for the Wuliang Sect to serve the Emperor." Li Bu Yu smiled, "Naturally, it is also an honor for me."

"Do you still remember our first meeting? More than ten years have passed."

"I remember. I remember all of it." Li Bu Yu's eyes lit up, "I was a novice at that time. I didn't expect to run into a powerful evil spirit. If it wasn't for the Emperor's help, I'm afraid I would have ..."

Zong Zi Heng smiled lightly, "You were only twelve years old then, right? It is indeed a frivolous and ardent age. However, many sons from prominent families at your age brought their guards and helpers to make a name for themselves, but you didn't crave for greatness and success, and went to experience it alone, which was very courageous of you."

Li Bu Yu was elated, "Emperor, Emperor has over complimented. Emperor is the one who is young and talented. At that time, Emperor was like a heavenly god descending to the earth and saved me from danger. That scene, Bu Yu will remember it in my heart for the rest of my life."

Zong Zi Heng gazed at him, "I intend to return to Daming today, so apart from thanking you, I have one more thing to ask you."

"Please speak, Emperor."

Zong Zi Heng slowly walked up to Li Bu Yu: "In fact, the person who broke into the Mandarin Duck Pond that day was you, right?"

Li Bu Yu was startled and said helplessly, "Why does the Emperor say this?"

Zong Zi Heng's heart was in turmoil. Li Bu Yu's reaction was flawless, but what if Xu Zhi Nan had misread it? Then, wouldn't he be doing something absurd? He settled his mind and added, "Few people knew that I bathed in the Mandarin Duck Pond, and I saw your back. Though it was very foggy at that time, and when you reappeared later, there were water stains on the hem of your clothes."

"Bu Yu is terrified." Li Bu Yu took a step back and arched his hand, "Bu Yu has never been disrespectful to the Emperor, please be clear."

"What are you afraid of? I have no intention of blaming you." Zong Zi Heng endured his discomfort and said, "I just want to know what you were really thinking."

"..."

"Xu Zhi Nan had warned that you were unusual to me ...." Zong Zi Heng turned his face slightly sideways without looking at Li Bu Yu, "I hadn't cared about it before, but after thinking about it, you have indeed been very good to me in the past ten years."

Li Bu Yu's chest rose and fell hard, and his face flushed red. He was born with a glib tongue, yet he's prevaricating now.

Zong Zi Heng pressed Li Bu Yu's shoulder and said softly, "Bu Yu, I want to know, what are you thinking about?"

"I ..." Li Bu Yu looked eagerly at Zong Zi Heng, the light in his eyes flickering uncontrollably, as if he had a thousand words to express, but just as he was about to speak, his body suddenly stiffened, and then his face changed completely.

On the back of Li Bu Yu's neck, a fixation talisman was attached.

Zong Zi Heng took a few steps back, his eyes turning cold and shadowy.

"What does the Emperor mean by this? What have I done wrong?" Li Bu Yu was breaking into a cold sweat.  At this moment he could only move anything above his neck.

"Li Bu Yu, every question that I ask you next, you must answer truthfully." Zong Zi Heng took a deep breath, "Otherwise, you will never be able to leave Yunlai Peak again."

Li Bu Yu looked at Zong Zi Heng in horror, his gaze struggling greatly.

"Do you know why I suddenly came to Mount Shu?" Zong Zi Heng glared fiercely at Li Bu Yu, "Because when I was moving the tomb for the late emperor, I discovered that the white bones buried in the Zong's imperial tomb were not the remains of the late emperor at all."

"What is the Emperor talking about?" Li Bu Yu said urgently, "How could that be? Why is the Emperor certain that it is not the remains of the late emperor?"

"There is not a single trace of damage to that skeleton's finger bones." Zong Zi Heng said in a chilling voice, "Descendants of a noble family have been training with swords since they were three years old, and they have been practicing for decades, whose finger bones would have not been bent before?"

"If that's the case, then it's indeed strange, but I don't know anything."

"You don't know? I watched the late emperor go into the coffin with my own eyes back then. Who switched the remains, who fabricated the appearance, who could have the audacity to steal the remains of Emperor Zong in the territory of the Wuliang Sect? If not you, could it be your father or grandfather?!"

"Emperor is accusing me wrongly ah!" Li Bu Yu defended himself, "I really didn't know, and my father and grandfather couldn't have done such a thing. Please allow me to investigate. Emperor, I will ..."

"You say you don't know about this matter regarding the late emperor, then what about Consort Shen?" Zong Zi Heng came closer to Li Bu Yu, his expression twisted with pain and hatred, "Last night, I personally opened the coffin to examine the corpse, and there were spider webs of red lines left by Thunder Ancestor Treasure Grant on my mother's Baihui point!"

Li Bu Yu's mouth was open, unable to lift his tongue.

"At that time you had not yet taken the position of Sect Leader, but as the first grandson of the old Sect Leader and the next successor to the Sect Leader, it would not be difficult for you to use the sect's magical treasures, right?"

"I ..."

Zong Zi Heng grabbed Li Bu Yu's neck and said in a stern voice, "How are you going to continue defending yourself?!"

Li Bu Yu's eyes filled with blood, and his eyes were almost out of frame as he stared at Zong Zi Heng.

"First you killed the late emperor, then you killed Consort Shen and framed her, and finally you made me bear eternal infamy!"

Li Bu Yu's face appeared ashen as he said, "I ... never thought of harming you. I never thought you would take the blame for her regicide."

As the killing intent boiled over, Zong Zi Heng fiercely closed his five fingers and strangled Li Bu Yu's throat, watching Li Bu Yu's face turn red and his eyes gradually turn white as saliva flowed uncontrollably.

Just as Li Bu Yu was on the verge of death, Zong Zi Heng suddenly let go of his grip.

Li Bu Yu came back from the dead, gasping for air with choking sobs. His face twisted in a frightening manner.

Zong Zi Heng clenched his fists and his body trembled violently.

Li Bu Yu shed tears and said, "She poisoned my cousin to death and caused my aunt to become sick with depression for so long that she passed away. Even if I didn’t kill her, my father and grandfather would never let her go, but I never thought of harming the Emperor."

"How did you know that she was the one who poisoned Zong Zi Mo to death?" Zong Zi Heng slowly turned his head and looked at Li Bu Yu grimly.

Li Bu Yu was stunned, "This matter ..."

"Only the late emperor and I knew about this matter. Outsiders all thought it was Lu Zhao Feng and Chu Ying Ruo who did it, including your father and the old master. Otherwise, mother could not have survived the moment she stepped onto Yunding, and you could not have convinced them to let me become the Human Emperor."

"It was I who surmised that." Li Bu Yu looked straight into Zong Zi Heng's eyes.

"A pack of lies." Zong Zi Heng felt disgusted with Li Bu Yu to the core. His killing intent and impatience grew quickly. He took out the Zhou Hou Spiritual Sticks from his qiankun bag, "This magical treasure can divine the truth and falsehood of what you say. I want to see how many mischievous intentions you are hiding."

Li Bu Yu stared at the Zhou Hou Spiritual Sticks, and  the Adam’s apple in his throat rolled rapidly. He had never heard of this magical treasure, but with the vastest wealth and treasures in Jiuzhou in the Zong Clan's hidden treasure trove network, he dared not disbelieve it.

Zong Zi Heng infused his spiritual energy and repeated Li Bu Yu's words from earlier and began to seek the sign: "Is what he said true or false?" The twelve spiritual sticks emitted a faint blue glow, and then one of the sticks floated up from the tube. Zong Zi Heng grabbed onto the stick and the word "false" is engraved on the root of the bamboo stick

Zong Zi Heng took the spiritual stick and put it in front of Li Bu Yu's eyes, "I want to hear the truth."

Li Bu Yu gasped hard and pursed his lips without saying anything.

"The late emperor could not have told you, nor could I have told you, could it be that mother told you?"

Li Bu Yu's eyes were clearly dodging.

It was an unintentional interrogation, but as soon as the words left his mouth, Zong Zi Heng suddenly changed his expression, as if he had caught the important one among a thousand strands of mixed thoughts: "Did my mother really tell you? That can't be ... why?" He furrowed his brows deeply and said in a coarse voice, "For so many years, there is one thing that I have always been puzzled about. My mother, who was killed by you, never had the chance to tell me, and that is, how on earth did she know about Zong Zi Xiao’s origin of birth?"

"Was it not Chu Ying Ruo who exposed it?"

"No, if I hadn't found out, Chu Ying Ruo wouldn't have been exposed." Zong Zi Heng stared deadly into Li Bu Yu's pupils, "At that time in the underground palace, I had a conversation with Lu Zhao Feng. I thought only Xu Zhi Nan and Qi Meng Sheng had heard the conversation, and I made them swear not to reveal it, but at that time, you were also in the underground palace."

Li Bu Yu sneered, "I didn't overhear any conversation, so Emperor doesn't suspect Xu Zhi Nan but wants to suspect me?"

Zong Zi Heng shook the stick tube, and Li Bu Yu's face changed.

"What you said just now, say it again."

Li Bu Yu gritted his teeth.

"If you don't say it, I'll ask it for you." Zong Zi Heng once again urged his magical treasure and asked for a sign, and he said in a trembling voice, "Another lie. It's really you. You're the one who told mother about Zong Zi Xiao’s origin of birth."

"You wanted to let someone do your dirty work, so you let mother go and get rid of Zong Zi Xiao, not realizing that she would strike Zong Zi Mo first."

"When she was brought to Yunding by the late emperor, you went to question her and later killed her, finally faking it as if she had killed the late emperor. You were hiding behind the scenes to reap the benefits!"

"Do you believe, if I tell Zong Zi Xiao about this, will he bring his thousands of Yin soldiers to slaughter the Wuliang Sect?"

"How vicious and hypocritical you are, claiming to repay me for saving my life and honoring me, yet you caused the destruction of my Zong Clan, killed my father and mother, and made me bear the eternal infamy of regicide!" Zong Zi Heng was so furious and hateful that he violently drew out his Zongxuan Sword.

There was a flash of silver light, and along with a miserable scream, blood spurted out.

Li Bu Yu's right arm was chopped off at his shoulder level. His body was still unable to move, just trembling and wailing violently.

Zong Zi Heng looked at Li Bu Yu's blood-soaked wound with a cold glint as he said slowly, "You can't move now. The only way to stop the bleeding, you and I know it deep down. Do you want to continue pretending, or do you want to live?"

Tears of blood dripped from Li Bu Yu's eyes as he let out a low roar and blood began to clot at his broken arm. Bones, muscles, blood vessels and flesh all regrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"The Extreme Positive Chunyang Technique." Zong Zi Heng only felt chills all over his body, "You ate Zong Ming He's human core."

Li Bu Yu trembled, choked and was heartbroken, like a trapped beast at the end of the road, "Why didn't emperor kill me?"

----

Edited on 3 May 21 (Emzie)

 

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