Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 4046: Traps, Baits And Probing Questions

The Grand Elder nodded slowly. "Correct."

Lin Mu had found that particular truth by comparing Zhenyu’s memoir against old technique registration records. He had spent nearly a week studying precisely because he expected questions like these.

Then came one that Lin Mu did not recognize. "Who was the fourth person present during the Crimson Reed Incident?"

Lin Mu’s mind went blank as there had been three people: Zhenyu, Elder Huan, and a disciple named Xiang Zhe.

He knew the event and that there was no fourth person. Lin Mu immediately realized the trick.

Zhenyu’s eyes narrowed. "There wasn’t one."

The Grand Elder remained calm. "Are you certain?"

"Unless you’re counting the corpse."

The Grand Elder’s eyebrow rose.

Zhenyu continued, "And if you’re counting corpses as participants, there were fourteen."

The Grand Elder nodded. "Correct."

The Sword Peak Head glanced toward him. "You deliberately invented a person?"

"Of course."

Zhenyu laughed. "Finally admitting your tricks?"

"I never claimed otherwise." The Grand Elder said with a slight smirk.

"Good." Lin Mu was enjoying this more than he had expected.

The Grand Elder continued for nearly half an hour.

Some questions concerned forgotten elders. Others involved ancient formations, vanished buildings, sect traditions, cultivation techniques and old rivalries. Several were absurdly mundane.

"What food did Elder Hong despise?"

"Cloud onions."

"Why?"

"Her first Dao Companion kissed her after eating too many of them."

"Correct."

"Which entrance to the old Records Division was considered unlucky?"

"The northern one."

"Why?"

"Because three elders died there."

"Incorrect."

Zhenyu scoffed. "Three elders died there because the staircase collapsed. People started calling it unlucky afterward. Don’t confuse cause and effect."

The Grand Elder paused, then nodded. "Correct."

A few disciples began to wonder whether they were witnessing an interrogation or two ancient men complaining about historical inaccuracies.

Then the Grand Elder suddenly asked, "What were the final words of Elder Taisheng?"

Lin Mu knew this one as Zhenyu’s memoir recorded them.

He had supposedly said, "The river flows where heaven commands."

Yet Lin Mu hesitated and the Grand Elder had changed his cadence.

’Trap.’

Zhenyu gave him a flat look. "I wasn’t there."

The Grand Elder’s eyes sharpened. "The famous account says you held him while he died."

"The famous account is sentimental nonsense written by his disciple forty years later. I was three provinces away hunting a Black Spine Demon Bear." Zhenyu replied.

The Grand Elder stared at him for several seconds, then he bowed his head slightly. "Correct."

Daoist Bone Ruler’s expression changed as that answer carried more weight than many of the others. A pretender studying historical records would have confidently repeated the famous quote.

Someone who had actually lived through the period might know the story was false. Lin Mu had only known because Zhenyu himself had ranted for nearly two pages about how ridiculous the account was.

The Grand Elder finally reached a question that Lin Mu had been expecting ever since learning about the man’s ancestry.

"My great-grandfather," the Grand Elder said.

The surroundings became quiet.

"He was a disciple of the Heavenly Stream Immortal Ancestor."

Zhenyu’s expression remained unchanged. "I heard."

The Grand Elder’s gaze sharpened. "His name was Yan Shouming."

Lin Mu searched his memory and he knew the name. There were records concerning Yan Shouming, though the man had lived after Zhenyu’s disappearance. Which meant Zhenyu could never have met him.

The Grand Elder asked, "What was his relationship with you?"

"None." The answer came instantly.

The Grand Elder’s eyes narrowed. "You never met him?"

"No."

"He supposedly mentioned you."

"Then he heard stories."

The Grand Elder stared at him.

Zhenyu shrugged. "I disappeared before Yan Shouming joined the sect."

A strange expression appeared upon the Grand Elder’s face.

The Sword Peak Head frowned and looked toward him. "Is that true?"

"Yes," the Grand Elder answered quietly.

It was another trap and Lin Mu had avoided it. The Grand Elder’s gaze became far more serious.

Then he asked the question Lin Mu had been waiting for. "Did you know the Heavenly Stream Immortal?"

Lin Mu allowed Zhenyu’s expression to change.

He frowned as though digging through memories buried beneath a hundred thousand years. "Deng Siqi?"

The Grand Elder’s pupils contracted and Daoist Bone Ruler visibly stiffened. The Sword Peak Head and Clarity Peak Head looked between them.

Zhenyu rubbed his beard. "Thin fellow. Quiet. Worked harder than most. Asked too many questions."

The Grand Elder said nothing.

Zhenyu continued. "If that’s the same Deng Siqi you’re all calling the Heavenly Stream Immortal these days, then yes."

"How well did you know him?"

Zhenyu gave the Grand Elder a suspicious look. "Why?"

The old man paused and Lin Mu immediately noticed it. ’Interesting.’

The question mattered.. Perhaps more than the others.

Zhenyu’s eyes narrowed. "You’ve spent all this time testing me, junior. Now I think it’s my turn."

The Grand Elder remained silent.

Zhenyu took one slow step forward. "Why are you so interested in Deng Siqi?"

The Sword Peak Head immediately frowned. "Mind your words. You are speaking of the Ancestor."

Zhenyu waved one massive hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. Ancestor, Supreme Elder, Heavenly Stream Immortal, Great Senior, whatever titles you’ve piled onto that little brat over the last hundred thousand years."

Daoist Bone Ruler’s face twitched violently while the Clarity Peak Head looked genuinely offended. High Elder Shatter Peak looked like he was trying to memorize every word so he could repeat them later.

But the Grand Elder alone remained composed.

Zhenyu’s gaze settled upon him. "I knew Deng Siqi before any of those titles existed."

Lin Mu let the silence stretch, then he smiled. "And if you want to know what I remember about him, junior, you’re going to have to start answering some questions yourself."

For the first time since the interrogation began, the Grand Elder’s calm expression became difficult to read. Lin Mu saw it immediately and deep inside, he smiled.

’Got you.’

The interrogation had started with the Grand Elder testing Mengli Zhenyu. But somewhere along the way, Zhenyu had begun testing him instead.