The Path Toward Heaven

Gu Han was waiting for him at the foot of the peak as well.

“I don’t think Shangde Peak will be talking to you for awhile, otherwise Senior Master Bai will be angry. And I won’t ask you about where you were that night,” Gu Han said to Liu Shisui. “Since we know this case has nothing to do with you.”

Liu Shisui didn’t tell anyone about the murder committed by Jing Jiu, or about his going to Jing Jiu’s place that night.

Gu Han and Ma Hua must have figured that he went to Jing Jiu’s place that night, but they misunderstood why he didn’t want to talk.

“They will speak with you again after a period of time; you will feel that it is unfair and that you are being wrongfully treated. Just be prepared,” said Gu Han.

“Understood.”

Yet, Liu Shisui didn’t know how long that was going to be. A year? Three?

“The masters and your peers on the nine peaks of Green Mountain can leave the affairs of the mortal world behind, disconnecting from all of their past relationships and emotional involvements and focusing all their time and energy solely on their Cultivation. But you have to remember, that it’s because Liangwang Peak has fought outside enemies over the years by any means necessary to ensure that carefree Cultivation practice,” Gu Han told Liu Shisui, looking at him. “If those colleagues were injured or even died a terrible death, their path of Cultivation would come to an end as a result, and injustice means nothing to us when compared to them!”

Gu Han was very proud, and he treated the disciples strictly, even brutally, but he treated Liu Shisui very well.

This was because he and Guo Nanshan had high expectations for Liu Shisui.

“I understand, and I’m willing to do anything for the Green Mountain,” said Liu.

Patting his shoulder, Gu Han said, “Do your best to learn from Senior Master Bai, and we will meet again on Liangwang Peak later on.”

It was obvious that there was a depth to what Gu Han was saying, but Liu Shisui didn’t know when that later date would come.
…
…

“Shangde Peak is investigating Liu Shisui. It was said that he left his manor cave that night, but nobody knows where he went,” said Zhao Layue as she looked at Jing Jiu, though she didn’t see any worried expression on his face.

Jing Jiu thought, This young girl really has an assistant in the nine peaks, but doesn’t know which peak the assistant from.

“He went to my place that night,” said Jing Jiu.

“Aren’t you worried?” asked Zhao Layue.

“I told him that I killed him,” Jing Jiu replied.

Staring at him, Zhao Layue seemed to see something there.

“Aren’t you worried?”

The same question was asked using exactly the same words, but she was attempting to express something totally different.

Jing Jiu didn’t reply to her question directly, saying, “Both Bai Rujing and Liangwang Peak will protect him. Like you, he is someone with natural Dao quality; it’s impossible for the Sect Master to let Shangde Peak do whatever they like with Liu Shisui.”

“The target of Shangde Peak is Liangwang Peak, or even the Sect Master. Even if they aren’t able to find anything out, ultimately it is some respect they want,” Zhao Layue said.

Jing Jiu didn’t comment on it, showing no interest in the discussion.

“Are you really not interested in the matter, or you already know how to deal with it?” asked Zhao Layue.

“Right now, I want to know why you’ve been talking so much since coming to Shenmo Peak?!” remarked Jing Jiu with a sigh.

“Because I have too many questions on my mind,” Zhao Layue didn’t avoid the question, saying, “For instance, I thought you would ask me that question, but you didn’t.”

Yuan Qijing said that everyone had a secret.

Jing Jiu didn’t know if she had a secret, but he knew there were many unanswered questions about her.

For example, why did Zhuo Yi of Bihu Peak want to kill her?

Because she was investigating a case.

Why must she come to Shenmo Peak?

Because she was investigating a case.

“Okay,” looking at her, Jing Jiu asked seriously, “Why don’t you think Immortal Jing Yang has succeeded in ascending?”
…
…

It was unknown whether the mist was as thick as the clouds or if clouds were as thin as the mist.

The white flowing water came down from the mountain peaks to the town, called Cloudy Town, at a lower elevation.

Watching the beautiful scenery, the town folks and the visitors had different feelings. The cheerful noise could be heard around the hotpot tables in the local restaurants.

Nobody noticed a flash of sword light passing the sky at a high speed from the top layer of the clouds.

There was a patch of wild forest on the outskirt of Cloudy Town. The trees in the forest were not thick, but very still quite robust, the green leaves forming countless strings like coins, filling the whole forest and in the middle of spring.

The green trees were stirred slightly, and the dust rose a bit, and the red light suddenly disappeared.

Zhao Layue placed the Thoughtless Sword into her sleeves to free her hands, saying to Jing Jiu, “It’s right here.”

They were now in front of a tall tree, the ground covered with the fallen leaves of previous years, all of it looking fairly normal.

“The state of that Underworld disciple was very low, but it was quite strange that he stayed at Cloudy Town and refused to leave.”

Looking at that patch of ground, Zhao Layue continued, “Though the One-Thousand-Mile Prohibition order was in effect, but it was really strange that Master Meng killed him with a swing of his sword before asking any questions. I didn’t pay much attention to it then; I just dragged his corpse here, but the moment Senior Grandmaster ascended, something suddenly happened.”

“What happened?” asked Jing Jiu.

Looking at the peaks enshrouded in clouds, Zhao Layue said, “I heard a sigh.”

“A sigh?” wondered Jing Jiu, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, that sigh was full of despair, sounding like the sighing person had nostalgia for the world, perhaps a hint of repentance, but…it also revealed a feeling of tremendous satisfaction.”

“I was certain that the Underworld disciple was dead and that nobody was around, but where did that sigh come from?” questioned Zhao Layue.

“Are you sure you heard the sigh?” asked Jing Jiu.

“That sigh echoed clearly in my mind,” said Zhao Layue.

Jing Jiu fell silent.

“At that moment I was looking in that direction,” said Zhao Layue while looking at a place off in the distance.

It was very cloudy, so the peaks were not clearly visible; but Jing Jiu knew she meant Shenmo Peak.

Jing Jiu looked in that direction silently, his hands behind his back.

“Sometimes I wondered whether that sigh came from Senior Grandmaster himself.”

“At first, I didn’t believe it, though I become more and more certain about the sigh. Since I’m his inherited sword disciple, and since Senior Grandmaster placed the Thoughtless Sword by my side, why was he unable to leave some kind of message for me, like he was to leave the sword manual with you before his passing?” questioned Zhao Layue.

“I think you have thought about this too much,” said Jing Jiu. “I’d like to have a look at that Underworld disciple.”

The blood-like sword light illuminated the whole patch of the forest. Soon the sharp Thoughtless Sword dug a big pit, exposing that Underworld disciple’s corpse.

A few years had passed, but for unknown reasons, this corpse hadn’t rotted yet, remaining mostly its original state and merely shrinking a little, like the dry leaves.

Jing Jiu poked the corpse with his iron sword, asking, “Why didn’t you use sword fire to burn it?”

Any disciple of the State of Perfect Attainment could ignite sword fire.

Zhao Layue was an external disciple at the time, but she should have been able to do so based on her talent.

Master Meng must have taken into account of her ability to use the sword fire when he let her dispose of the corpse

“Since I was suspicious, I kept the corpse and also put some soul-suppressing stones on it,” said Zhao Layue.

Jing Jiu used his iron sword to move the black-jade like stones away from the corpse, looking at the deformed and waxed face in a long moment of silence.

He was not familiar with this face.

He used his piercing discernment to scan the Underworld disciple’s corpse thoroughly a few times.

Then, he discovered a problem.

There was a small hollow cavity deep inside the middle spot between the Underworld disciple’s eyebrows.

That hollow cavity was really tiny, which, if it wasn’t the place for the Underworld folks to store their soul-fires, then what was it for?

Jing Jiu noticed that the cavity was very smooth, and its shape looked like a Ginshen fruit.

It seemed somebody had dwelled inside it for a long time.