Chapter 7. The Truth Behind the Assassination Attempt. Truth and Loyalty.

On a sunny afternoon, Xin Jiao Zhou sat in a long pavilion, eyes slightly squinted, reading a book under the corridor. Fei Yun stood quietly by her side.

A person walked over from outside the long pavilion.

At this moment, the person’s body was covered with a layer of golden sunlight, and that usually cold, lifeless face seemed to have become somewhat softer and more lively.

The newcomer was the master of the Qiu Si Gate, A Yu.

“Master of Qiu Si Gate, Yu, respectfully welcomes the Sect Leader back!” A Yu, who was usually of few words, knelt on one knee and said solemnly, word by word.

“Mm.” Xin Jiao Zhou responded faintly.

A Yu reported, “The Ming Jing Gate and Ye Meng Gate have been dealt with.”

Xin Jiao Zhou didn’t raise her eyes, finished a page of the book in her hand and turned to the next page, casually replying, “Mm.”

After reporting the situation, A Yu, who usually retreated directly, said one more thing this time: “Now, there are some vacancies in the sect…”

Xin Jiao Zhou, without raising her head, replied to her: “Leave it to Feng Yan to arrange.”

“But…” A Yu frowned, hesitating to speak.

Xin Jiao Zhou understood A Yu’s thoughts.

She looked up at her and said with certainty, “Feng Yan is absolutely trustworthy.”

“He will not betray me.”

Hearing this, A Yu was silent for a moment, lowering her head and eyes, showing no emotion.

After a moment, she replied, “Yes, this subordinate spoke out of turn.”

Xin Jiao Zhou put down the book, looked at the person kneeling in front of her, and said, “Let’s go.”

She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sunlight and said, “Come with me to see my group of ‘loyal’ subordinates…”

“Yes.”

A Yu led the way.

Passing through the cool white stone corridor, lifting a huge stone slab in a secluded place, the two walked into the dark and damp underground.

Passing through cell after cell, at the place where the lamplight was about to burn out, Xin Jiao Zhou and A Yu finally arrived at the deepest part of the Qiu Si Gate’s dungeon.

Walking into the cell holding the original master of Ye Meng Gate, there were broken flesh and bones all over the ground, with only one intact head kicked into the corner, which belonged to the protector of Ming Jing Gate from that day in the hall.

In the corner, Mo Jing was babbling madly, gnawing on raw bones while mumbling something.

Has he gone mad?

In Mo Jing’s current state, it seemed impossible to get any information out of him.

Xin Jiao Zhou turned towards Meng You, who was hanging on the torture rack with her head down, her life or death uncertain.

She asked her, “The master of Ye Meng Gate is so clever… can you guess what I’m here for?”

The person on the rack was as still as death, not moving at all.

Xin Jiao Zhou picked up a short dagger from the torture instrument table nearby, her finger lightly flicking it, and the dark blade came out of its sheath.

She walked closer to the wooden rack, leaned towards the person hanging on it, and used the tip of the knife to gently lift the hanging head of the person on the rack, forcing them to make eye contact with her.

Xin Jiao Zhou said, “If the master of Ye Meng Gate confesses voluntarily, I can give you and your accomplices a quick death.”

The person on the rack lifted their eyelids, looking up at Xin Jiao Zhou, a pair of turbid and dull eyes like those of a dead fish moved slightly: “Really?” The voice was as hoarse as a wooden table being dragged across the floor, broken and harsh.

“Really.” Xin Jiao Zhou withdrew the dagger, carefully wiped the blade with a handkerchief, examining the blade, the corner of her lips curled up, revealing a hint of interest.

Meng You sighed almost inaudibly, resignedly confessing: “It’s the Feng Hua Gate, and also the Sheng Yu Gate…” She admitted her crimes without denial.

“Mm.” Xin Jiao Zhou looked up at Meng You, withdrawing her stance.

The matter seemed to be coming to an end, and knowing the fate she was about to face, Meng You felt a sense of relief in her heart.

The person standing in front of the wooden rack suddenly asked, “Did you two hear clearly?”

Apart from her and herself, there was only the babbling Mo Jing left, and no one else. Who was she asking? And why “you two”?

A terrifying guess arose in Meng You’s heart, and she suddenly widened her eyes.

Sure enough, as she spoke, Hua Yin, the master of Feng Hua Gate, and Yu Chi, the master of Sheng Yu Gate, were escorted by Feng Yan to the door of this cell.

The two who were still putting on airs and bantering with Feng Yan outside the door finally lost all their momentum, silent as they were escorted into the torture chamber.

Xin Jiao Zhou withdrew her gaze from outside the door and looked back at Meng You, saying coldly, “Rest now.”

Meng You sighed silently, resigned to her fate and closed her eyes.

In the dim dungeon, a few streaks of light shone through the high cell window, and a cold glint flashed by.

On the wooden rack, a head fell from high above, dropped to the ground, rolled a few times, and then stopped.

This broken body finally announced its end, with blood not even having time to flow out.

The place where the head rolled was very close to Mo Jing.

Seeing the fresh red, bleeding cut surface, Mo Jing’s body couldn’t help but shudder violently.

“Ah!” The person not far away drew out their words, exclaiming, “So you were pretending to be mad.”

Xin Jiao Zhou slowly walked towards Mo Jing.

“This time you were a bit smarter.”

Xin Jiao Zhou wiped the short dagger clean, her tone cold, her movements without the slightest hesitation.

“But it’s useless now.”

Three heads rolled together, at the severed neck as large as a bowl, the pale white neck bone exposed, blood gushing out eagerly, the blood pool expanding on the ground, forcibly dyeing those three pale and stiff faces with the color of blood.

Black hair rolled in mud, stuck with bits of flesh and fresh blood, filthy and unsightly, without any aesthetic appeal.

Xin Jiao Zhou frowned slightly.

A Yu, who knew Xin Jiao Zhou very well, stood by and constantly paid attention to her mood.

Seeing Xin Jiao Zhou frown, A Yu immediately ordered people to come and clean up the torture chamber.

While supervising the subordinates cleaning, A Yu lightly swept a glance at the corner.

It was time to change toys.

Hua Yin and Sheng Yu were locked up in the dungeon, but Xin Jiao Zhou didn’t do anything to them.

The remaining matters would be handled properly by the people of Qiu Si Gate.

*

In the main hall above ground of the Qiu Si Gate, Xin Jiao Zhou sat in the main seat, with A Yu and Feng Yan standing on either side.

“Can you tell me your plan now?” Xin Jiao Zhou opened her mouth.

“Mm.” Feng Yan was a bit embarrassed, “It’s nothing much, you’ve probably guessed most of it.”

He lowered his head slightly, his gaze evasive, too embarrassed to make eye contact with her.

“Three months ago, when I noticed that Hua Yin and the others had ulterior motives, I began to secretly have people keep an eye on them, regularly reporting their movements to me.”

As he spoke, Feng Yan suddenly became indignant: “Recently, they suddenly took action and began to openly form factions within the sect, their treasonous intentions clear as day.”

Forming factions, internal strife, splitting up the Tian Jian Sect… did they think he was dead?

Feng Yan hesitated for a moment, then continued: “You know, many people in the sect have always thought I had ambitions to be the Sect Leader because of my former status.”

He and she were both disciples of the previous Sect Leader, and both were groomed by the previous Sect Leader as potential successors.

Later, she became the Sect Leader, while he became the master of Hao Yue Gate, one of the nine gates under the sect.

When they were young, he often competed with her, not understanding anything, only knowing that everyone said she was his opponent, his enemy.

He believed it to be true, treating her as his enemy, bullying her, suppressing her.

Later, he realized that she never had any intention of competing with him, and she had never done anything bad to him like he had done to her. On the contrary, when others spoke ill of him, she dealt with those people with thunderous methods.

Thinking of this, warmth arose in Feng Yan’s heart.

As he gradually grew up, he also understood what he truly wanted.

He wanted to protect the Tian Jian Sect, to protect this place he belonged to.

Whether he was the Sect Leader or not, he could protect it.

Saying this, Feng Yan scratched his nose a bit embarrassedly.

“They tried to entice me, wanting to use this as a reason to win me over.”

“I thought, then I might as well play along, becoming the ‘Feng Yan’ they imagined in their hearts.”

He grinned mischievously: “But not the ‘Feng Yan’ who would be content to go along with them, but a ‘Feng Yan’ who was ‘extremely ambitious’, ‘rebelling against the master’, ‘only wanting to monopolize the benefits’, competing with them, a ‘profit-driven’ ‘Feng Yan’.”

“This way, it would not only accelerate the split situation in the sect, achieving a quick resolution, but also create the greatest degree of opposition under this opportunity, drawing out all those hiding in the dark with disloyal thoughts, cleaning them out in one fell swoop!”

“You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.”

Seemingly thinking of something, Feng Yan suddenly drooped his head, then raised it again after a moment, indignantly, with a fire in his eyes.

He looked at Xin Jiao Zhou worriedly and said: “But, I never thought they would poison you!”

Xin Jiao Zhou met Feng Yan’s gaze, and as usual, her tone was consistently calm, which now had a good soothing effect: “You need not blame yourself for this matter.”

Feng Yan looked at Xin Jiao Zhou with great confusion.

Xin Jiao Zhou continued: “I knew about their plan long ago, and I also knew they would poison me.”

Feng Yan was shocked: “So, you acquiesced to them poisoning you?”

Hearing this, even A Yu couldn’t help but quietly turn her head to look at Xin Jiao Zhou.

The person who had been poisoned, however, remained unmoved, only faintly “mm”-ing in response.

Feng Yan and A Yu asked in unison: “Why?”

Why didn’t she stop them? Or secretly pour out that poison? Instead, she took the poison, letting Hua Yin and the others succeed?

Even if it was a counter-scheme, she could have made a bowl of fake poison to replace the real one, and after drinking it, just pretend a little.

The two looked at Xin Jiao Zhou simultaneously in confusion, their puzzled gazes almost becoming tangible.

Under the persistent gaze of Feng Yan and A Yu, Xin Jiao Zhou finally spoke, calmly stating a fact that could shake the entire Tian Jian Sect, and even the entire jianghu.

“There’s an anomaly in the Tian Jian Sect Leader’s cultivation method,” Xin Jiao Zhou said.

Both were startled upon hearing this.

“The Tian Jian Sect Leader’s reputation is far-reaching, and there are too many people coveting the head of the rumored demon sect leader.”

Although she didn’t like to care about these things, as the protagonist of the rumors, some words inevitably reached her ears.

As such a figure, every move was under surveillance, every action could potentially trigger a bloodbath.

“… So, when I learned of their plan, I didn’t stop it.”

She looked at the two in front of her who were gradually calming down, and continued: “If I was poisoned due to internal strife in the sect, although it seems somewhat incredible, it’s also within reason. I could then take this opportunity to use being poisoned as an excuse to seek out a good doctor and verify my suspicions.”

As soon as Xin Jiao Zhou finished speaking, Feng Yan urgently asked: “What exactly went wrong with the cultivation method?”

Although A Yu didn’t ask out loud, the expressions of both were identical, full of concern.

Xin Jiao Zhou calmly said: “The later stage mental techniques contradict the initial basic cultivation mental techniques. If one continues to cultivate like this, it will inevitably lead to disordered meridians.” At that time, going berserk would be a minor issue and might not endanger one’s life, but in more severe cases, it could directly lead to death by bodily explosion.

And if one doesn’t cultivate, their strength would remain stagnant while simultaneously bearing the title of the number one demon. In the end, they would either be defeated, fall from their pedestal, dragging the Tian Jian Sect down with them to never recover and be despised and bullied for generations; or be killed by some unknown enemy in the name of eliminating evil and upholding justice, becoming a stepping stone for others to make a name for themselves with their life.

Ahead lay a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, while behind was a bottomless abyss.

Feng Yan still retained a shred of rationality and asked Xin Jiao Zhou: “Currently… what stage have you reached?”

“The meridians are already disordered, and the wrong momentum is irreversible,” Xin Jiao Zhou answered Feng Yan.

One sentence made the hearts of the two people opposite suddenly “thump”, and then sink into boundless descent…

At this moment, a vigorous “Sect Leader” suddenly came from outside the door, breaking the somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the hall.

The person coming from outside was Fei Yun.

Fei Yun came in person to report to Xin Jiao Zhou: “There’s a man outside the mountain gate who claims to be the Sect Leader’s creditor.”

The three people in the hall: “?”

The three lower-ranked people looked simultaneously at the person in the main seat, only to see that she was frowning, also looking puzzled.

Xin Jiao Zhou frowned and asked Fei Yun: “Where is that person now?”

“In the side hall of the Shu Jian Hall,” Fei Yun answered.

“Let’s go see,” Xin Jiao Zhou said.

“Yes!” The three responded in unison, even their bowing movements were uniform.

…

In the side hall of the Shu Jian Hall, a person dressed in dazzling jewels and noble attire was elegantly holding a tea cup and savoring tea.

Hua Rong’s attire was impeccable, with golden hairpins and luxurious clothes, not a single item missing, showing no signs of travel dust, not looking like someone who had been on the road for several days.

The group of four, master and servants, entered the side hall in an orderly manner, almost creating an illusion that they were the visiting guests.

After everyone on the opposite side was seated properly, and seeing that no one opened their mouth to inquire, Hua Rong also stopped putting on airs and got straight to the point: “I’ve already written the prescription. Some of the herbs I’ve already prepared and brought back from the Immortal Doctor Valley, and some are stocked in my Poison Spirit Sect. Now we only lack a dozen or so rare and hard-to-find herbs that you need to seek out.”

Rare and hard to find?

Among the group of four, except for Xin Jiao Zhou, all frowned with worried expressions.

Seeing that no one wanted to speak, Hua Rong continued: “But you don’t need to worry, I’ve already inquired about them for you.”

After speaking so much at once, Hua Rong felt a bit thirsty. After taking a sip of tea, he continued: “The two largest medicine merchants in the imperial city now, the Bo family and the Hua family, should be able to find these herbs.”

As medical practitioners in the Immortal Doctor Valley, whether for consultations or research, herbs were the most indispensable. Therefore, people in the valley were very well-informed about herb sources. Hua Rong could easily get this information by asking anyone he grabbed on the road in the Immortal Doctor Valley.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s set out immediately?” Feng Yan urged at once.

She turned to Xin Jiao Zhou, quickly bowed to her, and said: “Sect Leader need not worry about the sect’s affairs. This subordinate will certainly handle everything with utmost dedication and care.”

In front of outsiders, the two of them always addressed each other as master and servant, showing no signs of closeness or distance. It was also because of this that they had misled the wind direction and deceived Hua Yin’s faction.

“Good,” Xin Jiao Zhou nodded slightly and said, “A Yu will come with me.” A decisive decision.

Fei Yun, as the Sect Leader’s confidant maid, was not too conspicuous in the sect, easily arousing suspicion.

The usually inconspicuous Qiu Si Gate master A Yu was different. Normally, no one knew what the people of Qiu Si Gate and their master were doing. They always appeared and disappeared mysteriously, only showing up when the Sect Leader needed to punish erring masters, escorting and punishing offenders.

After arranging the sect’s affairs, Xin Jiao Zhou, A Yu, and Hua Rong set out for the imperial city.