Paying Restitution

The old man's temples were grizzled, and his face was covered in bark-like, coarse wrinkles. He looked like someone who had weathered countless vicissitudes.

He wore a plain silk robe and entered with a stooped back, one step at a time. He surveyed the surrounding wreckage, and his gaze grew increasingly stern.

Seeing the man rolling on the ground as blood poured endlessly from his wounds, the old man hurried past the crowd, raised his hand, and formed a spell to staunch the bleeding.

He turned and fixed his gaze on Wu Cheng, his authority commanding even without anger:

"Wu Cheng, you've gone too far this time."

His tone was full of reproach. The arrogance in Wu Cheng's expression vanished, and he hurriedly bowed:

"Greetings, City Lord Liu. About what happened today..."

"Enough! Have your master explain it to me." City Lord Liu ruthlessly cut Wu Cheng off, then turned to the cold-eyed You Su beside him. After looking him over, he asked with concern, "Are you injured?"

You Su could tell that City Lord Liu was asking him. He had had no dealings with City Lord Liu since his master had left, so he was somewhat flattered as he said, "Greetings, City Lord. It's nothing serious."

Wu Cheng continued to keep his head lowered, his teeth clenched tight. No one could see the veins bulging beneath the shadows on his face.

"Good. They were only so desperate to find someone that they resorted to such measures. I hope you can understand." Only then did City Lord Liu withdraw his pressure, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"I can understand." The frost on You Su's face melted away as well, and he replied amiably.

The ice on his face was easy to melt, but the grudge in his heart was not. You Su had already etched this debt firmly into his heart.

Faced with City Lord Liu's attempt at reconciliation, You Su could only go along with it on the surface. Compared to resenting the old man for playing the peacemaker, You Su was more grateful that he had stopped the fight in time. He only wanted to give his junior sister and Mistress an environment free of turmoil.

City Lord Liu stroked his beard in satisfaction, then turned and helped up Wu Cheng, who was still bowing. His tone had softened somewhat as he said:

"Wu Cheng, I know you care deeply about your fellow disciples, but you shouldn't have lost all sense of proportion. You're all cultivators, not savage thugs here to ransack a household. Your master values you so highly—you must live up to his expectations."

Wu Cheng shot a glance at City Lord Liu's face, its old branches of wrinkles crisscrossing it, then lowered his head and bowed again, saying solemnly, "Thank you, City Lord, for bringing me to my senses. I know my mistake. From now on, I'll think twice before acting and won't let my emotions control me."

The corners of City Lord Liu's mouth lifted. After helping Wu Cheng up again, he even patted him on the shoulder:

"You're a good child who values loyalty and affection. This time, your actions were understandable. Offer You Su a gesture of restitution and an apology, and this matter will be over. You're all peers, and all of you are the future of Chuyun City. You can interact more in the future."

Before Wu Cheng could respond, Wu Ping shouted indignantly, "You want us to make restitution and apologize to him? City Lord Liu, just look at what he did to our man! What more restitution does he want?"

At this, City Lord Liu cast a sidelong glance at Wu Ping, who was propped against the wall, then turned back to examine the severed-hand victim's injuries. He said softly to Wu Cheng:

"Hurry back to the sect. The hands can still be reattached."

In the blink of an eye, a streak of sword light flashed. The fat man's pair of palms, still trembling on the ground, instantly shattered into several pieces, thoroughly becoming a heap of bloody mush.

Everyone's expressions turned terribly ugly, and even City Lord Liu frowned. Only You Su remained cold and expressionless, fresh red blood dripping from the Ink Pine Sword in his hand.

"There's no need for an apology. This is the restitution I wanted." You Su's hollow eyes were filled with indifference, while his handsome face remained utterly calm.

The fat man was so terrified that he dropped straight to the ground, wailing as though his heart were being torn apart. He had merely followed Wu Ping's orders to humiliate this blind man he had never once deigned to look at properly. Afterward, he would even have received quite a few spirit pills. How could he have known that he had provoked a fiend he could never afford to offend?

"You!" Seeing this, Wu Cheng's face twisted with rage, and he made as if to draw the treasured sword already sheathed at his waist.

He felt that every sword You Su had swung just now was like a slap, landing heavily across his face. Of course, he did not care about the injuries of some unknown subordinate. It was just that You Su's actions were a blatant humiliation directed at him.

City Lord Liu thrust out a large hand and blocked the two men on the verge of drawing swords. He gently pressed Wu Cheng's hand back down and said with a faint, inscrutable smile:

"Good. Since You Su has accepted the restitution, let this matter end here. You can all disperse. Take him for treatment as quickly as possible."

Even Wu Cheng, who desperately wanted to maintain a good image before this highly respected old city lord, was unwilling to give the old man face any longer. An uncontrollable fury flickered in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth as he said:

"City Lord Liu, You Su has repeatedly resisted the search. Just now, he even admitted that Number Twelve had encountered Uncle-Master He. I suspect he cannot escape involvement in Uncle-Master He's disappearance!"

Wu Ping also raised his arm and shouted in support, "That's right! This House must be searched!"

A trace of sorrow surfaced on City Lord Liu's withered face. He reached out and patted Wu Cheng's back, seemingly soothing his emotions, then slowly said:

"I know you're desperate to find your uncle-master, but your Uncle-Master He's corpse was just found. It was on Qiong Mountain, five li away. Poor man—only a grim white skeleton remains. Your master has already gone there. You should hurry and take a look as well."

You Su hid behind the others without changing expression, but his heart gave a sudden thump.

Uncle-Master He's corpse had been found. Would the cause of his death be investigated as well? And would the karma behind the man-eating evil spirit draw him into the matter? You Su suppressed his unease and began thinking calmly: True Man Ling's arrival had been abrupt, and his interactions with him were hidden in the shadows. Even investigating True Man Ling would be extremely difficult. The chances of being implicated should not be high.

At this, Wu Cheng's expression shifted between light and dark. He released his tightly clenched grip on the sword hilt and once again became that courteous, upright young genius. He bowed again and said, "Thank you, City Lord, for informing us. We'll take our leave for now and come pay our respects another day."

City Lord Liu's face was benevolent. "Go. And my condolences."

Wu Cheng left without looking back. Wu Ping followed closely in his brother's footsteps, while the Outer Disciples, supporting one another, brought up the rear.

The large group departed in a grand procession, and the crowded old residence finally grew spacious again.

Yet City Lord Liu did not leave, and You Su could not help but grow nervous.

He did not know why City Lord Liu had suddenly shown him goodwill. He only knew that this old man was very likely the most powerful cultivator in the city. Every extra second the old man remained here meant an additional risk that his junior sister and Mistress would be exposed.

City Lord Liu knew nothing of the storm in You Su's heart. He paced to the heap of bloody mush, held two fingers together, and chanted an incantation. A mass of green fire suddenly burst from beneath the ground and burned the mangled hands into a pile of white ash. He then cast another spell, conjuring strands of water that washed away every spatter of blood.

Sensing everything he had done, You Su could not help feeling surprised.

"You can clean up the other things yourself." City Lord Liu shook out his sleeves and walked up to You Su. With a helpless sigh, he said, "I've always been puzzled. How could someone as overbearing as your master have taken in such a taciturn disciple as you?"

"Only now do I understand. Deep down, the two of you are actually the same kind of person."