Of the Seven Star Elders from years past, five had perished, leaving only two. Cai Zhao remembered Mu Qingyan mentioning that the remaining two were Elder Tianshu, a fence-sitter, and Elder Yuheng Yan Xu, who refused to take sides.
Yan Xu mumbled, “So many years have passed, and you’ve grown so much. That year when I visited Busizhaiinvestigation on Huanglao Peak, you were only seven or eight. Shortly after, I was ambushed…”
Mu Qingyan raised an eyebrow. “Tell me, you’ve been imprisoned for ten years. Didn’t you praise Nie Hengcheng highly, always saying ‘The Mu family is declining, the Nie family should succeed’? How did you end up locked away like a dead dog by Nie Zhe for a decade?”
“Ten years? Has it been that long?” Yan Xu stared intently at Mu Qingyan, his cloudy old eyes suddenly clearing. “Is Nie Zhe dead?”
Mu Qingyan replied nonchalantly, “Soon, probably.”
Yan Xu asked again, “What about Sun Ruoshui? Is she dead?”
Cai Zhao marveled at the peculiar nature of the demonic sect, asking about someone’s mother’s death right in front of them.
Mu Qingyan’s jawline tightened slightly. “…I haven’t decided yet.”
Cai Zhao looked at him in surprise – hadn’t Mu Zhengming asked him to take care of his birth mother on his deathbed? Why…
Yan Xu was equally surprised, but he asked, “Has the young master passed away?”
“Yes,” Mu Qingyan answered briefly.
Yan Xu closed his eyes briefly and sighed, “He was murdered, wasn’t he?”
“…Yes,” Mu Qingyan said, “I’ve only recently come to understand this.”
Cai Zhao opened her mouth, staring at him in shock – she knew nothing about all this.
“Why don’t you ask who killed your father?” Mu Qingyan said.
Yan Xu’s throat produced a cough-like laugh. “No need to ask. The young master was exceptionally talented from childhood, but he had an impenetrable nature. What ultimately killed him must have been his stubborn benevolence.”
Mu Qingyan remained silent.
Yan Xu continued, “These past few days, Nie Zhe hasn’t sent anyone to bring me food or water. I thought he wanted to starve me to death, but it turns out you’ve attacked Jile Palace, and he’s busy dealing with that. Would the young lord please release this old man? If you don’t mind, I’m willing to assist you and help you achieve great things.”
Mu Qingyan put on a fake smile. “I wouldn’t dare. When my grandfather suddenly passed away, many sect members advocated for Nie Hengcheng to temporarily take the position of sect leader, bypassing my father. Elder Qiu disagreed no matter what. As the two sides were at a stalemate, it was you who went against popular opinion and sided with Nie Hengcheng, angering Elder Qiu to the point of coughing blood. Those past events are still fresh in my mind; I can’t accept your support, Elder.”
Yan Xu glared, his mustache quivering. “You don’t need to be sarcastic with me, old man. I’ve always had the sect’s best interests at heart, heaven knows! I supported Nie Hengcheng back then for the sake of the sect, I was imprisoned by Nie Zhe ten years ago for the sect, and I’m willing to assist you now, also for the sect!”
This declaration did not affect Mu Qingyan.
Cai Zhao tugged at Mu Qingyan’s sleeve and asked, “Well, should we let him down?”
Mu Qingyan responded like a naive child, “Is the important question whether to let him down or not? No. The real issue is who will carry him out after we release him.”
Cai Zhao blinked.
Mu Qingyan continued, “He’s been imprisoned for ten years and hasn’t had food or water for days. He must be extremely weak. So, who will carry him out? You or me? I certainly won’t carry this old thing.”
Cai Zhao quickly said, “Then perhaps Elder Yan should stay put for a while longer. He’s already been here for ten years; his loyalty to the sect can wait a bit longer.”
“Good girl, Zhao Zhao. You learn quickly,” Mu Qingyan patted her head.
Cai Zhao had expected Yan Xu to be furious after hearing this, but he only looked uncertainly between himself and Mu Qingyan.
“Young lord… have you married? Is this young lady your wife?” Yan Xu tentatively asked.
Mu Qingyan unconsciously raised his chin, a smile playing on his lips as he chided, “Elder Yan, your eyesight must be failing. Can’t you see our Zhao Zhao is still in unmarried attire? Though the engagement has been set…”
Cai Zhao pinched him from behind, and Mu Qingyan’s face lit up with a coy smile, making the stone chamber seem to sway.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xu suddenly shouted, “What engagement? No marriage allowed! No engagement allowed! None of it! You two, separate immediately! I don’t approve of this marriage!”
Mu and Cai were both stunned.
Cai Zhao looked the chained Elder Yan up and down, wondering where he found the audacity to interfere with Mu Qingyan’s marriage when he was in such a miserable state, bound and at their mercy.
Mu Qingyan coldly said, “Elder Yan, you’re overstepping. My marriage is not for you to…”
“Not! Under no circumstances!” Yan Xu shouted hoarsely. “For the sake of the sect’s long-term plans, this marriage absolutely cannot happen!”
Cai Zhao couldn’t help but say, “Elder, you don’t even know who I am. How do you know I’m harmful to your sect’s long-term plans?” Although the old man’s guess wasn’t far off.
“I don’t need to know who you are!” Yan Xu yelled. “For two hundred years, the Mu family’s descendants have never had smooth relationships. Whenever they choose their lovers, it leads to chaos at home at best, and disruption of sect affairs at worst – without exception! His grandfather and father didn’t listen to the old sect leader and Elder Qiu and married as they pleased. And how did that turn out? Did any of them have a good ending?”
Mu Qingyan’s face turned a mottled green and yellow, like a freshly pickled cucumber.
“Has it been like this for two hundred years? No exceptions?” Cai Zhao recalled the engravings on the stone wall, her curiosity piqued. “Oh, right, what about the wife of your first-generation founding ancestor?”
“Sect Leader Mu Xiujue married in middle age. His wife was the orphaned daughter of a warrior who died for the sect. As they say, ‘a wise wife prevents calamity.’ It was precisely because his wife was virtuous that Sect Leader Mu Xiujue was able to establish this unparalleled foundation!” The old man recounted proudly.
Mu Qingyan sneered, “How much impact could a woman’s virtue possibly have on the sect’s foundation?”
“Of course, it matters, and it’s certainly more virtuous than this little girl!” Yan Xu cried. “I’ve read countless faces in my life, and this girl’s face shows she can neither embroider nor cook, can’t fight or speak wisely, and could turn chicken soup into hotpot water with one touch. Am I right?”
Mu Qingyan was at a loss for words, as everything said was true.
Cai Zhao thought: …Why attack me? I haven’t done anything.
“Well then, what about your sect’s most powerful leader, Sect Leader Mu Donglie?” she changed the subject. “Who was his wife?”
Yan Xu lamented bitterly, “No wife has brought more misfortune than Sect Leader Donglie’s! Back then, our sect had pushed the Six Northern Chen Sects into a corner and was on the verge of unifying the world. But Sect Leader Donglie was bewitched by a female spy from the enemy camp and abandoned our great cause to elope! Oh, the pain and regret are unbearable!”
“How do you know all this so clearly?” Cai Zhao asked curiously.
Yan Xu shook his messy hair. “Of course, I know clearly. I am the official chronicler for this generation’s sect history. What wouldn’t I know?”
Cai Zhao persisted, “But how do you know she was a spy? Maybe your Sect Leader Mu Donglie just fell for her beauty?”
“She must have been a spy. Sect Leader Donglie took the position at fourteen; he had seen it all. If she hadn’t deliberately seduced him, how could the Sect Leader have lost face by causing a scene in the bridal chamber…”
“Wait a minute!” Cai Zhao exclaimed, startled. “Did that woman have a husband?”
Yan Xu replied, “Of course she did. Those Six Northern Chen Sects love to intermarry. The wedding ceremony hadn’t even finished.”
Mu Qingyan scoffed coldly, “Sect Leader Donglie wouldn’t have disrupted the wedding without reason. There must have been a prior connection.”
Cai Zhao mused, “Indeed. If there were unresolved matters, they shouldn’t have held such a public wedding. Wouldn’t a secret ceremony have been better?”
“…” Mu Qingyan slowly turned his head, staring at her. “What do you mean by that?”
Cai Zhao: …
She said, “Nothing, I just mean we should hurry and get out of here.”
Amidst Lao Yan’s heart-wrenching roars of anger, Cai Zhao pulled Mu Qingyan by the sleeve out of the stone chamber. They searched two more rooms before finally finding stairs leading to the surface in the third. They ascended the steps.
The exit led to an opulently decorated meeting hall, reflecting Nie Zhe’s taste for extravagant luxury. In the center stood an incense burner shaped like a four-legged candle dragon coiling around clouds, emitting wisps of pale red smoke.
Mu Qingyan strode forward and kicked it over, then quickly led Cai Zhao away.
As they exited through the back door of Jile Palace, daylight greeted them. Having spent so long underground, Cai Zhao felt dizzy at the sudden brightness, while Mu Qingyan adapted quickly. Cai Zhao reflected on this, feeling a pang of sadness.
They rushed to the front hall of Jile Palace, where two factions were in a standoff.
On one side stood a formidable but agitated force led by You Guanyue. After a night and half a day of fierce battle, his clothes were torn, his crown askew, and his Dragon Roaming Sword was stained with blood, evidence of intense fighting.
The other side had only a few dozen people left. They looked disheveled, blocking the front hall doors and shouting sporadically. Their leader was a middle-aged man with an oily face and powdered skin.
He was threatening You Guanyue cunningly, “…Listen well! Young Lord Mu has been trapped inside by Sect Leader Nie, with a knife to his throat! If you dare to attack, I’ll send word inside, and they’ll chop your young lord to pieces!”
You Guanyue, neither fully believing nor daring to disbelieve, could only try to coax them into opening the doors.
“Who’s that guy?” Cai Zhao asked softly.
Mu Qingyan replied, “Nie Zhe’s former male favorite.”
With their appearance, the farce came to an end.
Mu Qingyan swept his long sleeve, sending a gust of wind that caught the group of defeated soldiers off guard, scattering them. You Guanyue and his men, both surprised and delighted, quickly moved in to help.
By the time Cai Zhao strolled over, the battle had just ended.
Mu Qingyan immediately ordered You Guanyue and his men to break open the front hall doors and rush towards the banquet hall where Han Yisu had trapped them underground. The mechanism held the iron doors firmly shut, and even Lian Shisan and the others couldn’t break them open with their attacks. You Guanyue, wiping sweat, said, “Young Lord, please wait. Let me fetch the battering rams used for city gates…”
Cai Zhao couldn’t wait. “No need for such trouble.” She drew the Yanyang Knife from her waist and slashed through the gap between the two doors. Instantly, golden-red clouds and rainbows spilled out, breaking the iron bolts held by the mechanism one by one.
Lian Shisan and the others were dumbfounded, cheering repeatedly. You Guanyue cheered twice before seeming to recognize the Yanyang Knife, looking uncertainly at Mu Qingyan.
As soon as the hall doors opened, following Mu Qingyan’s instructions, Lian Shisan led his men to use iron hammers to break open a hole in the solid, sealed iron floor, revealing a pitch-black void below.
After You Guanyue ordered lanterns to be lowered to illuminate the area, they saw the chaos below: ruins from Han Yisu’s black gunpowder explosion, mixed with falling debris, corpses, and a pool of bone-dissolving rain, reeking of decay and death.
Fortunately, the stone room with the mechanism had been blasted open, and two large unbroken stone slabs lay across broken pillars above the pool of poison. Yu Hui, Shangguan Haonan, and others were huddled precariously on these slabs.
However, as the corpses beneath the stone slabs were gradually dissolved by the bone-dissolving rain, the poison was slowly rising. If the rescue had been delayed by another two hours, everyone would likely have perished in this poison pool.
You Guanyue immediately ordered his subordinates to lower rope ladders for rescue.
Among these people, Yu-Hui and Shangguan Haonan were in the best condition. The former had only suffered minor impact injuries, while the latter had only a few bloody scratches on his legs. They tied the others to the rope ladders one by one, climbing up last themselves.
Cai Zhao saw Song Yu lying motionless on a stretcher and anxiously wanted to rush over to check on him.
An intense gaze shot from the side, and she quickly changed course, vigorously patting Shangguan Haonan’s shoulder instead. “I didn’t expect Altar Master Shangguan’s cultivation to be so profound. Impressive, impressive!” She knew well that the less attention she paid to Song Yu, the more diligently Mu Qingyan would treat his injuries.
Poor Shangguan Haonan nearly had his lungs patted out.
Li Xin and her son were not seriously injured but were badly frightened, trembling like startled birds.
Nie Zhe was in the worst condition.
Earlier, he had been kicked into the poison pool by Hu Fengge, with half his body submerged in the bone-dissolving rain. To save his life, Yu Hui had to quickly amputate one arm and both legs before the poison could spread to his entire body. After a night of torment and excessive blood loss, Nie Zhe was now barely clinging to life.
Mu Qingyan’s face was as cold as ice. “Take him away for treatment. Don’t let him die; I still have questions for him.”
The second worst off were Hu Fengge and Song Yu.
Hu Fengge’s face and body were covered in burn marks from the gunpowder explosion; Song Yu’s chest, back, arms and head had all suffered severe impact injuries from the blast. Both were currently unconscious.
Cai Zhao was shocked.
“Master Song was injured while saving me and young master Si’en,” Shangguan Haonan said softly. “When the stone room was blasted open, Elder Hu, being closest to the window, was immediately injured and fell. But that old dog Han had set up a chain of explosives, one after another. Just as I pulled Elder Hu to my side, the surrounding blasts shattered the stone ceiling, and half of it was about to crush me and Madam Li and her son.”
“Yu Hui only managed to pull away Elder Hu and Madam Li. As I was about to be crushed into the poison pool by the huge stones, Master Song rushed to hold up the falling rocks, allowing me to escape with young Master Si’en. He was severely injured by the falling stones.”
Cai Zhao noticed something odd in his way of addressing people. “You… you already know Third Senior Brother’s identity?”
Shangguan Haonan’s expression was complex. “Master Song told us himself before he lost consciousness. He said he had only used a false name to avoid causing trouble for his family. My uncle and great-uncle were both killed by his grandfather, Old Sect Leader Yin. He couldn’t hide it from me anymore. He told me to seek revenge if I wanted, without hesitation.”
“Your uncle and great-uncle?”
Shangguan Haonan scratched his head. “Elder Yaoguang and Elder Kaiyang, one from my father’s side and one from my mother’s.”
“Your parents have quite a generation gap between them,” Cai Zhao joked, watching Song Yu being carried away steadily.
Shangguan Haonan gazed in the direction Song Yu had been taken, musing, “I often heard people say that all Six Northern Chen Sects were despicable and cunning villains. They couldn’t defeat us in fair combat, so they used underhanded tricks to kill my uncle and great-uncle. I never imagined there would be someone as upright and noble as Young Master Song among them.”
Although they were trapped in an underground poison pool, with sealed iron plates above and debris blocking the surrounding holes, as long as they were careful, there was always a chance to escape. Yet, at that moment when heaven and earth seemed to be collapsing, Song Yu didn’t hesitate to save him and Nie Si’en—two people he had barely spoken to.
Shangguan Haonan couldn’t help but feel grateful.
After everything was settled, Cai Zhao, showing some conscience, had someone bring out Elder Yuheng who had criticized her lack of virtue. She turned her head to hear Mu Qingyan giving instructions to You Guanyue.
“Nie Zhe’s place is disgusting. Guanyue, find someone to clean it thoroughly later. As for the others, you arrange their accommodation. Make sure Elder Hu and Zhao Zhao’s senior brother receive proper treatment.”
“Bring Madam Sun over,” he said, his expression indifferent and his tone calm. “I’ll stay at my grandparents’ and father’s old residence. Bring Madam Sun and Nie Zhe there as well—”
The young man, who hadn’t rested for a day and a night, showed no signs of fatigue. His bright black eyes gleamed slightly, and his slow speech revealed a hint of long-awaited cruelty.