A Piece of Jade

"Wake up!"

Just then, the woman in white gave a soft cry, jolting Wang Xian awake from his dream.

"Ah..."

Wang Xian started. He lowered his head and stared blankly at the glowing inner core in his hand.

The entire mountain forest was silent.

Unable to hold back, he asked, "Senior, was I dreaming, or...?"

The woman in white smiled faintly. "A dream and not a dream. Only you know the reason behind it. You don't need to tell me."

Then she asked gently, "Little fellow, where did you come from?"

Wang Xian looked at the inner core in his hand, thought for a moment, and replied, "The temple on the southern slope. Have you been there, Senior?"

"So you're the Old Daoist's disciple?"

The woman in white sighed and smiled. "I've never been there, but I know your master's name."

Wang Xian stiffened and said nothing.

The woman in white didn't seem to mind. She murmured, "The aura about you..." She didn't finish. Her body jolted, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

In that instant,

the aura around Wang Xian vanished completely.

Yet from deep within his bones, his whole being was like a spirit sword, as he sat quietly before her.

The woman in white stared at Wang Xian, speechless for a moment.

After a long while, she smiled faintly. "You only dreamed half of that dream earlier. As it happens, I came across a treasure by chance. Let me show you..."

With that, she took out a piece of jade and placed it on the table. With a wave of her hand, a wisp of spiritual energy flowed into it, conjuring an image before Wang Xian.

She said softly, "Look closely."

Wang Xian picked up a pastry and took a bite, but his eyes remained fixed on the scene before him. He didn't say another word.

A secret realm bathed in cold moonlight.

Who would have thought that deep in the mountains there would be an ancient temple?

A few wooden sheds stood not far from the temple, with a cave farther beyond.

The Academy elders lived in the temple, the male disciples stayed in the wooden sheds, and the cave nearby belonged to the Academy's female disciples.

Just then, the elders Shangguan Feilong and Wang Ruofei were chatting in the temple.

Suddenly, the sharp whistle of an arrow rang out.

At the sound, the two elders immediately flew out of the temple. Hearing the alarm arrow, they were instantly alarmed.

It was a distress signal used by Academy disciples when they were in danger.

As the two raced through the wind, a despairing roar sounded from the night fog ahead.

Wind sprang beneath their feet, and they flew toward it.

Before they even drew near, the stench of blood washed over them.

An Academy disciple lay on the ground, blood pouring out from beneath him.

Shangguan Feilong stepped forward and reached out to check his pulse, but the man in black had already breathed his last. His hand still gripped an iron bow tightly.

Elder Wang Ruofei cried out, "This is bad! It's Long Jie from the library!"

The two looked around, wondering whether it had been a demon beast or a murderer who had killed an Academy disciple.

To kill someone in an instant and escape right under their noses—however they looked at it, something about this was uncanny.

Just then, Wang Xian's senior fellow disciple Shangguan Jue also arrived. He took in the scene and cried out in shock.

The three looked into the vast night. There was no sign of the killer.

Shangguan Jue stepped forward to examine the body and suddenly shouted, "Elders, there are words beneath Long Jie!"

Shangguan Feilong took out a fire striker and lit a torch, then looked closely.

On the flagstone beneath Long Jie, the number "two" had been written in blood.

It was clear that he hadn't finished writing before he died.

Sima Jue threw his head back and roared furiously, "Who killed an Academy disciple? Even as a ghost, I, Sima Jue, won't let you get away with it!"

The night wind carried back an echo: "Even as a ghost, I won't let you get away with it..."

The mountain wind gusted, and the night grew deeper.

Shangguan Feilong said to the two, "Take Long Jie back. I'll search the area. Whoever harmed an Academy disciple, I'll find them!"

Sima Jue said, "Master, be careful!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, Shangguan Feilong had disappeared into the boundless night.

As Wang Ruofei comforted Sima Jue, he took out some old clothes to wrap Long Jie's body. Just then, a handkerchief slipped from Long Jie's robes and fell to the ground.

He picked it up and looked at it, then exclaimed, "Your junior sister's handkerchief—why was it on Long Jie?"

Sima Jue was startled. "Elder Wang, let's go back. We'll call Junior Sister over."

The two returned to the temple. Wang Ruofei lit a lamp, while Sima Jue sent a message to summon their senior sister Murong Yu and junior sister Duanmu Xi.

A pot of wine sat on the table. The two poured themselves a cup and held them in their hands.

A cold wind blew, and from deep inside the main hall came the creak of wood from time to time.

Murong Yu, hurrying over after hearing the summons, called from a distance, "Junior Brother, why did you call us here in the middle of the night?"

"Ah..."

Duanmu Xi saw the corpse on the ground and screamed.

Sima Jue sighed deeply. "Junior Sister, when did you give your handkerchief to Long Jie? He was just killed by a demon cultivator in the mountains!"

Even Wang Ruofei couldn't believe an Academy female disciple would harm one of her own.

Duanmu Xi stepped forward and looked at the bloodstained handkerchief embroidered with her character, "Xi." She cried out in shock, "How can this be? I gave this handkerchief to Junior Brother Wang Xian."

Wang Ruofei shook his head, took a sip of wine, and dipped a finger in it to draw the number "two" on the table.

He said coldly, "Look. If this character had been completed, whose name would it have spelled?"

Murong Yu stiffened and blurted out, "Such an evil deed could only have been committed by the Demon Cult, couldn't it?"

Wang Ruofei nodded, then added, "Then where is your missing junior brother?"

Murong Yu sighed. "We've searched every corner of the secret realm these past few days, but there's no sign of Wang Xian."

Duanmu Xi was startled. "Could a demon beast have carried Junior Brother off?"

Murong Yu sighed. "There's one other place none of us can reach..."

Sima Jue furrowed his brows and asked, "Could that be where the killer is?"

Wang Ruofei shook his head. "Impossible. It's a death zone!"

"Exactly!"

Shangguan Feilong walked in and said, "In this entire secret realm, neither we nor the demon beasts dare go near that dead zone."

"Why?"

Duanmu Xi murmured, "I've been searching for Junior Brother all this time..."

Wang Ruofei fell silent for a long moment, then said, "Even if someone were lucky enough to get in, they could never make it back out alive."

Shangguan Feilong smiled bitterly. "I tried going there. The moment you step past the forbidden zone, even flying birds turn into bones..."

"How could that be?" Duanmu Xi was stunned.

Wang Ruofei handed the bloodstained handkerchief to Shangguan Feilong.

He said coldly, "Duanmu Xi gave this to Wang Xian, yet it turned up in Long Jie's robes..."

Shangguan Feilong roared, "You good-for-nothing Wang Xian!"

Wang Xian was furious when he saw this!

He took out his Storage Ring and checked, then froze. "The handkerchief Senior Sister gave me is gone!"

The woman in white murmured, "Perhaps that man liked your senior sister. He used someone else to kill Long Jie, then framed you..."

Wang Xian was stunned into silence.

He muttered, "How can that be? How do you know this secret?"

"Don't be in a hurry. Let's look back further!"

The woman said softly, "Watch closely. Once you see how this fellow dealt with his junior brother, you'll understand why he framed you."

The moonlight shimmered, and another image slowly appeared before Wang Xian.

Before the murder, Long Jie, dressed in black, had been strolling under the moonlight with Sima Jue, who was dressed in white...

Looking up at the moon, Long Jie said, "Senior Brother, you can't keep associating with people from the demonic path!"

"Why? I'm only having some fun!"

Sima Jue replied, "I can get spirit medicines from them to help me cultivate."

Long Jie sighed. "They've always wanted to destroy the Academy. Don't you understand they're just using you?"

"Bullshit!"

Sima Jue snapped coldly. "The Academy has so many elders, not to mention an abbot like a god. Why would we fear them?"

Long Jie shook his head. "Whatever the case, Senior Brother, don't force me to tell Master about this!"

"Junior Brother, don't push me!"

"Senior Brother, I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Damn it, Junior Brother, you're driving me into a corner!"

"Senior Brother, let go!"

Squelch!

A poisoned dagger plunged into Long Jie's chest in an instant.

Long Jie turned around and pointed at Sima Jue, one hand clutching his chest. "Senior Brother, you..."

Sima Jue said coldly, "Since you insist on forcing my hand, then you'll have to die first, Junior Brother!"

With that, he struck out with his palm. Long Jie crashed heavily to the ground...

After a long while, once he was sure Long Jie was dead, Sima Jue grabbed Long Jie's bloodied hand and wrote the number "two" on the ground.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a handkerchief and tucked it into Long Jie's robes.

He threw his head back and roared.

He shot an alarm arrow into the sky, then stuffed the iron bow into Long Jie's hand.