Wuxia 4

Everyone was shocked by Liu Zhong's question.

Bei Jinyi barked, "What nonsense are you talking about? Senior Sister Ji is Senior Brother Yin's fiancée. They aren't even married yet, so how could they have a child?"

"Huh?" Liu Zhong tilted his head, putting on a bewildered, puzzled expression. "But the last time I sneaked out, I saw this heroine with a girl who looked a lot like her. The girl even called her 'Mother'! And this heroine called the girl 'Buhui.' Is Buhui the girl's name? Why would anyone give their daughter a name like that?"

The faces of the Wudang and Emei disciples darkened.

If what Liu Zhong said was true...

Abbess Jingxuan, the leader of the Emei group, asked Yin Liting in a deep voice, "Sixth Hero Yin, since you and Junior Sister Ji already have a child, why haven't you married her?"

"I-I don't." Yin Liting waved his hands in a panic. "I-I'm completely innocent with Miss Ji."

Zhang Cuishan spoke up. "Abbess, my sixth brother practices the Wudang Nine Yang Skill. Until he masters it, he must remain a virgin and cannot have relations with a woman. Miss Ji's child isn't my junior brother's."

Abbess Jingxuan's face darkened further.

She glared at Ji Xiaofu. "Junior Sister Ji, what do you have to say?"

"I-I..."

What could Ji Xiaofu say?

Now that the secret she'd hidden had been exposed, all she wanted was to flee—to escape with her daughter.

If Abbess Miejue found out who her daughter's father was, the child's life would be in danger.

Ji Xiaofu could no longer think of anything else. She abruptly turned and fled with her lightness skill.

"Senior Sister Ji..." Bei Jinyi called loudly, but Ji Xiaofu paid her no heed. In a flash, she was out of Zixiao Palace and vanished from sight.

The Wudang disciples: "..."

The Emei disciples: "..."

Abbess Jingxuan trembled with rage.

After Ji Xiaofu had done something so shameful, how could they face the Wudang disciples, let alone pressure Zhang Cuishan into revealing Xie Xun's whereabouts?

Abbess Jingxuan faced Zhang Cuishan with a wooden expression. "I'm sorry. We didn't know about Junior Sister Ji's situation. When we return to the mountain, I'll report this to my master. She'll deal with it."

Zhang Cuishan nodded. He had no mind to speak further with the Emei disciples. He led the dazed Yin Liting, ushered the Emei group into the main hall, then took Yin Liting to the inner hall and asked Mo Shenggu to look after him.

Mo Shenggu was furious when Zhang Cuishan told him what had happened.

"How could the Emei Sect have a woman so shameless?! Sixth Brother, don't be upset. Once the birthday banquet is over, we'll ask Master to take charge, end your engagement to that woman, and find you someone better."

Yin Liting shook his head, then nodded. He was more bewildered than heartbroken.

Though he and Ji Xiaofu were engaged, they had hardly seen each other.

The truth was, he liked Ji Xiaofu because she was his fiancée. His feelings for her weren't that deep yet.

Only after spending more time together would he fall in love with Ji Xiaofu, grieve over her, and vow to kill Yang Xiao for revenge.

But now, before his feelings had grown deep, Liu Zhong had exposed the fact that Ji Xiaofu had a daughter. Yin Liting would be upset for a while, but he would soon recover instead of obsessing over it.

Liu Zhong stood with Song Qinghua in a corner of Zixiao Palace, watching the Wudang disciples deal with the other sects' demands; watching Zhang Cuishan find Yin Susu and have her learn the Zhenwu Seven-Section Formation; watching the truth come out, then Zhang Cuishan rush out, unable to bear the shock, and kill himself in front of everyone; watching Yin Susu follow Zhang Cuishan in death; watching Zhang Sanfeng save Zhang Wuji...

The other sects left Wudang Mountain, disappointed.

Zhang Sanfeng and Song Yuanqiao and the others gathered around Zhang Wuji.

They were focused on saving Zhang Wuji and protecting Zhang Cuishan's son, with no attention to spare for anything else.

Song Qinghua looked dejected. "Grandmaster said he'd have Father teach us the Wudang Nine Yang Skill after the birthday celebration."

Liu Zhong patted Song Qinghua's head.

No wonder Song Qinghua had hated Zhang Wuji so much in his previous life. The Wudang disciples were so worried about Zhang Wuji and so utterly neglectful of him!

Liu Zhong said, "Shall we go see Third Uncle?"

Yu Daiyan was in the same situation as they were, ignored by everyone.

He was the one who most needed comforting.

His fifth junior brother and sister-in-law had died because of him. Guilt and remorse were nearly drowning him, yet he still had to act as though nothing had happened, so his master and fellow disciples wouldn't have to worry about him while busy with his fifth junior brother's son...

"Third Uncle."

Liu Zhong and Song Qinghua walked into Yu Daiyan's room.

"What brings you here?" Yu Daiyan forced a smile.

"Third Uncle." Liu Zhong walked over and touched the corner of Yu Daiyan's mouth with a finger. "If you don't want to smile, don't. If you want to cry, then cry. Qinghua and I will pretend we don't see."

"I don't want to cry," Yu Daiyan said.

"You do," Song Qinghua said. "Third Uncle, Qinghua and I know you're the one who's hurting the most."

Liu Zhong nodded. "Third Uncle, we know you feel guilty about Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt's deaths. But we don't think Fifth Uncle's death had much to do with you. You don't need to feel so guilty."

"You don't have to comfort me like that," Yu Daiyan said.

"No, we really don't think Fifth Uncle's death had much to do with you. Fifth Uncle chose to die because he didn't want to reveal Xie Xun's whereabouts. He did it for the sake of what he called loyalty. Given the situation at the birthday banquet, if Fifth Uncle hadn't revealed Xie Xun's whereabouts, the other sects would have joined forces against the Wudang Sect. Even if the Wudang Sect had won, it would have suffered terrible losses. If it had lost, the Wudang Sect would have ceased to exist. Fifth Uncle saw that and chose to take his own life. The Wudang Sect couldn't be safe while he was alive. He was the one who had brought danger to the Wudang Sect, so he had to deal with it himself."

Yu Daiyan had never considered the matter from that perspective.

Now that Liu Zhong had put it that way, it sounded reasonable.

Still, Yu Daiyan felt deeply guilty.

His own troubles had been the spark that set everything off. Liu Zhong's words couldn't simply erase his guilt.

Liu Zhong knew that too. He only hoped his words would make Yu Daiyan feel a little better.

Liu Zhong and Song Qinghua chatted with Yu Daiyan for a while. When they saw that his spirits had lifted somewhat, they said goodbye and left.

After they left Yu Daiyan's room, Song Qinghua said, "Brother, let's head west after we go down the mountain. I have a feeling there's medicine in the west that can heal Third Uncle's hands and feet."

Liu Zhong agreed at once. "Sure!"

He had already planned to head west.

The two packed their things and descended the mountain under cover of darkness.

They left a letter behind, though they had no idea how long it would take for anyone to find it.

Zhang Sanfeng and his five disciples were entirely focused on treating Zhang Wuji. They were either channeling their inner power into him to stop the cold poison from spreading or meditating to replenish their own inner power. They had no time to attend to anything else.

By the time Zhang Wuji's condition had temporarily stabilized, more than two months had passed.