Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 171: Morning

Gasp... Bai Zhaolin finally felt Ding Songyan’s true emotions. Then he drew his final breath.

His eyes remained wide open as his head lolled to one side, unwilling to die in peace.

I lost just like that?

Wandering Star Overhead really killed me...

In the dark of night, Ding Songyan looked at the ghostly soul with a blank expression drifting up before him, and asked in a low voice, "Who told you to come to Alpine Lake Mountain and challenge my master during this time?"

Bai Zhaolin certainly had ample reason to challenge Tao Wenshu to a deathmatch at any time. But the timing overlapped with the Two-Faced’s operation, which was plainly suspicious.

Bai Zhaolin’s ghost, now tinged an eerie green, twisted with pain. After several breaths, he said, "It was Evil Beyond Measure Sun Feiyang, the Malevolent Envoy of the Accumulated Evil Way."

He stood first among the Ten Malevolent Envoys, a first-rank Spirit Resonated Grandmaster said to have a chance at the Heaven-Man Realm. On the Nine Hells Ranking, he ranked seventh on the Malevolent God Prison.

The Malevolent God Prison ranked unorthodox Grandmasters by both strength and wicked deeds.

Evil Beyond Measure Sun Feiyang... Ding Songyan committed the name to memory. As expected.

He questioned Bai Zhaolin again.

"Did Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan instruct Sun Feiyang to find you?"

"I don’t know." Bai Zhaolin’s ghost shook his head.

He clearly did not want to speak of it. Only fear of Banishing Demons and Warding Off Evil made him answer honestly, but there was no further elaboration.

"Why did you listen to the Accumulated Evil Way?" Ding Songyan pressed.

Bai Zhaolin’s soul answered with difficulty, "Several years ago, I saw Tao Wenshu fighting someone. I knew I was no match for her. Even if I reached the perfected Dharma Realm, I could at best force a draw. But I could not give up on revenge. I often dreamed of my father wailing and cursing. How could I, his son, pretend none of it had happened?

"I once swore I would not start a family until I had avenged him. But for a martial artist, losing confidence weakens not only your strength but also stalls your cultivation. Then Sun Feiyang found me. He told me Wandering Star Overhead, a move of the Celestial Stars Sword Art, had a fatal flaw: against a powerful technique capable of invoking calamity, it would become part of that calamity and strike back at its wielder.

"Sun Feiyang also said he possessed a copy of Heaven and Earth in Calamity. It shared an origin with my family’s Wind-Rain Eight Wilds Strategy, but contained Calamity Upon Heaven and Earth, which our art lacked. I could master it in three years, and as long as I did not use it, Tao Wenshu would never suspect I possessed such a technique."

Master did not anticipate it, but I did. I had never even heard of the Wind-Rain Eight Wilds Strategy, so I had no idea whether it included the trait of Calamity Upon Heaven and Earth... Past experience can blind one’s eyes and cloud one’s judgment. Ding Songyan sighed inwardly.

After some consideration, he asked, "What did the Accumulated Evil Way have you do?"

"Other than obeying them on how to challenge Tao Wenshu to a deathmatch, the Accumulated Evil Way never made me do anything. I only wanted revenge. I would never commit evil!" Bai Zhaolin still cared deeply about his reputation.

Heh. Once the authorities confirm that you worked with the Accumulated Evil Way, your reputation will be ruined even in death, and the Bai family will be shamed as well... Ding Songyan sneered inwardly as Bai Zhaolin’s answer confirmed several things for him.

The Accumulated Evil Way approached Bai Zhaolin years ago, gave him Heaven and Earth in Calamity, and prepared him to deal with Master. That means this was not set in motion because of me...

If numerology were really this powerful, what need would there be for heaven-earth severance?

Even Master Yan, who specialized in numerology, had shown obvious limits...

If they were not after me, then they were targeting Master and the Brightnight Sect. Why did the Demon Sovereign not act himself?

For a Heaven-Man Realm Grandmaster, destroying the Brightnight Sect would be difficult while the righteous path held such a clear advantage. But killing a Grandmaster burdened with many affairs and a predictable route should have a fair chance of success. He would only need to wait along a necessary road in the wilderness...

Did Tan Guanchan not want anyone to learn that the Accumulated Evil Way was behind this, lest their true hidden purpose be exposed?

And how could a Two-Faced infiltrate the Brightnight Sect? So many people there possess Candle-Star Pupils...

Ding Songyan set aside his thoughts and sought more details.

"How many years ago did the Accumulated Evil Way first contact you?"

"Four years ago," Bai Zhaolin’s soul answered truthfully.

Suppressing the urge to press further, Ding Songyan extended Frostshade and stabbed Bai Zhaolin’s corpse through the neck.

I cannot let this Wind-Shadow Saber’s soul disperse just yet. I must question him again under the authorities’ watch, so the Brightnight Sect’s reputation is not harmed.

...

Hall of Myriad Stars, mourning hall.

Xue Xian glanced at the pitch-black night outside and asked in puzzlement, "What offering did Junior Brother Ding go to fetch? He has been gone for three whole days."

Zheng Zhuxi watched the brazier burning before her, feeding it paper offerings while doing her utmost to keep her voice from trembling.

"Perhaps something else delayed him. He should return within the next day or two."

Why has Junior Brother not returned yet?

Has he not caught up to Bai Zhaolin, or did something go wrong along the way...

He will be fine. He’s so clever...

Could he be hurt? Where is he now...

Seeing nothing unusual in Zheng’s demeanor, Xue Xian held back her questions and continued keeping vigil with her.

Two hours later, Yan Jingxian entered the Hall of Myriad Stars and motioned for Xue Xian to take a break and return after daybreak.

The Grandmaster glanced at the black memorial tablet, and grief surged through her once more. She knelt beside Zheng Zhuxi and burned paper offerings for a while before saying, "The county and prefectural offices have yet to find Bai Zhaolin’s trail. They want us to send disciples skilled in the secret art of Northern Dipper Wayfinding to assist.

"Why is there still no word from Martial Nephew Ding?"

Another pang of pain struck Zheng Zhuxi’s heart, but she forced herself to say, "Perhaps he is waiting for Bai Zhaolin’s injuries to heal before making his move."

Yan Jingxian tilted her head toward her niece and sighed softly.

"If it were you, I would believe that. But that boy does not strike me as the sort.

"Still, there is no need to worry. Bai Zhaolin practices the Wind-Rain Eight Wilds Strategy and excels at movement arts. It would be perfectly normal for Martial Nephew Ding to spend several days catching him after he let his guard down."

"Mm." Zheng Zhuxi forced the sound out of her throat.

With Junior Brother’s realm, strength, and wits, even if he cannot kill Bai Zhaolin, he likely wouldn’t place himself in danger...

But could he run into the person who arranged for Bai Zhaolin to come up the mountain and challenge Mother... Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan?

Junior Brother should have considered that. He fears Tan Guanchan so much that, if he found the slightest clue, he would surely withdraw and wait for another chance. As long as the two of us live, we will eventually use Bai Zhaolin’s head as an offering for Mother. There is no need to rush...

Could the Demon Sovereign be hiding near Bai Zhaolin with some special secret art, waiting for someone from the Brightnight Sect to seek revenge on him...

Junior Brother, Junior Brother...

Zheng Zhuxi’s hand, clutching the paper offerings, trembled twice. A mist of tears seemed to rise in her eyes again.

She longed to get up at once, follow the trail, and learn the truth, but she kept herself under control.

The young woman’s voice was already hoarse from weeping. She spoke to Yan Jingxian in an even lower voice, "Master Aunt Yan, if Junior Brother doesn’t return by tomorrow afternoon, please ask Master Granduncle Wang to look for him. And tell him to be extremely careful. There may be a powerhouse of the Accumulated Evil Way near Bai Zhaolin."

"That is exactly what we should do." Yan Jingxian had been thinking the same.

They fell silent again. The mourning hall was silent, broken only by the occasional sound of wind passing over the brazier.

Zheng Zhuxi grew ever more anxious, worried, and afraid, but she did not let it show and disturb Master Aunt Yan. Every blink and breath felt like torture. She only wanted dawn to come quickly, so Master Granduncle Wang could bring Junior Brother Ding back soon.

Unable to help herself, she glanced toward the back of the mourning hall and thought of her father.

For the last three days, Zheng Ziming had sat beside the coffin without moving from it. Only this evening, when nearby officials came up the mountain to pay their respects, had he emerged to exchange a few words with them. He had now gone to Myriad Ravines Courtyard to sort through his wife’s belongings.

When I see Mother’s everyday things, I can barely control myself. I cannot stop crying. How can Father bear it... Zheng Zhuxi’s thoughts drifted from her father to her mother, then inevitably back to Junior Brother and her worry for him.

Life was unpredictable. Though she had great faith in Ding Songyan, she could not stop imagining accidents that should never happen and every terrible possibility.

Her heart began to race. Her mouth was dry, and even breathing seemed difficult.

She was afraid of seeing Junior Brother carried back covered in blood.

It would remind her of her mother’s appearance in death, when even black clothes could not conceal the vivid red of blood.

Zheng Zhuxi’s eyes reddened again. She drew in breath and let it out, using the simplest breathing method to steady her emotions.

In the midst of that indescribable torment, she suddenly heard a clamor in the distance.

It was a sound she knew well.

It was the sound of disciples who had been in the sect for over a year carrying manure down the mountain. It marked the beginning of a new day.

Over the past three days, and over countless years before them, this had never stopped.

Zheng Zhuxi suddenly felt dazed, remembering her childhood.

Whenever that clamor sounded, she would quickly rise, drag her little wooden sword into the courtyard, and practice the most basic sword forms. Though she had not yet formally tempered her body, she was always meticulous. Back then, Tao Wenshu would sit on a stone bench in the courtyard, smiling softly as she patiently corrected every mistake her daughter made...

Later, she would follow her mother to the Purple Forbidden Chamber and sit alone in a corner, reading, writing, and playing with children’s toys. When her mother had a moment to spare, she would run over to wheedle and chat with her for a while...

Those memories stood vividly before her. Zheng Zhuxi’s vision blurred again, veiled by a thin mist.

Drop after drop slid down her cheeks, falling onto the paper offerings in her hands and the stone floor before the brazier.

The sky outside gradually brightened, and dawn shone into the hall, but she could not see anything clearly.

Suddenly, she caught a faint scent of blood and heard an exceptionally familiar gait.

Zheng Zhuxi looked up instinctively toward the entrance to the Hall of Myriad Stars.

Through her haze, she saw a blood-stained head with goat horns. She saw her junior brother in torn black clothes, his expression grave with grief.

Behind her junior brother lay a pale blue morning.