Trust Was No Mistake

Maple Forest City lay in Qinghe Prefecture. By size, it ranked near the bottom among the prefecture's thirteen cities, with only Mao City below it.

The head of a Dao Academy in a city like this would generally be a mid-ranking sixth-grade Daoist. Dong A guarded Maple Forest Dao Academy with fifth-grade cultivation, so rumors that he had offended someone in Zhuang Capital were hardly surprising.

But for the disciples of Maple Forest Dao Academy, this was undoubtedly a good thing.

"So, aside from Fang Decai's testimony, you have no conclusive evidence you can make public that Fang Pengju personally arranged the attack before this duel, intending to kill you and steal your pill?" Dong A sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in a quiet room, dressed in a black Daoist robe.

A portrait hung on the wall behind him. It depicted a Daoist in a dignified purple robe, rendered in delicate strokes and lifelike detail, but the Daoist's face was hidden in clouds and mist, impossible to make out clearly.

Jiang Wang stood respectfully before the headmaster with his head bowed. Only after hearing the question did he answer in as calm a voice as he could manage. "I know for certain it was him. That's enough. As for hard evidence, he'll provide it to everyone before he dies. And he certainly hasn't disappointed me."

Dong A knew he was referring to the Vein-Opening Pill Fang Pengju had taken.

"Wasn't that too rash and impulsive?"

"I should have proceeded slowly, gathering evidence and waiting for the Dao Academy's judgment. But the inner-court selection is in two days. Since Fang Pengju has revealed his Dao Vein, he's certain to become one of your disciples. Time was short, so I had no choice but to take a risk. I dared to kill an outer-court disciple, but I didn't dare kill the headmaster's disciple."

The outer court was only preparatory. Inner-court disciples were the true disciples of the Dao Academy!

As he spoke, Jiang Wang kept his head bowed, displaying the humility and restraint expected of a disciple.

But what flashed through his mind was the sword's cry outside Huanzhen Temple, coming from the west!

That man named Li Yi had beheaded a Prodigy as powerful as Zuo Guanglie with a single sword strike. Why bother with all those twists and turns?

Compared to the battle outside Huanzhen Temple, how weak he was! And how feeble the swordsmanship he had once been so proud of!

How could he afford to dawdle, trying to find a foolproof way to slowly outmaneuver Fang Pengju in the Dao Academy?

Besides, if he hadn't charged straight in today with a single sword and brazenly initiated a Dao Verification Duel, how could he have stood a chance against Fang Pengju, who had the backing of the Maple Forest Fang Family?

"If the Vein-Opening Pill Fang Pengju used was stolen from you, then where did your pill come from?"

Here it came.

Jiang Wang tensed slightly inside, but showed nothing on his face. Even if the power of the strong combatants had kept people from approaching the battle outside Huanzhen Temple, it would inevitably be investigated afterward. Besides, Gongyang Bai and the others had set up their formation within Zhuang Kingdom. They couldn't have failed to inform the kingdom's powerful cultivators beforehand. No matter how small Zhuang Kingdom was, it still had the dignity of a nation!

As the strongest figure openly acknowledged throughout Maple Forest Territory, Dong A could not possibly know nothing about that battle.

Fortunately, Jiang Wang had no secrets to hide in the matter, and in this world of extraordinary powers, there was no way he could conceal the traces he had left behind.

He gave as objective an account as he could, without adding any personal judgment, describing everything he had heard at the time. He included the state of his body, his thoughts and decisions, how he had found the Vein-Opening Pill among the indistinct mass of flesh, and how he had buried the corpses afterward.

He alone left out what had happened with the Void Key.

Throughout his account, Dong A remained silent, except for a brief flash of anger in his eyes, as if it were about to burst forth.

Jiang Wang knew exactly where that anger came from.

The outskirts of Maple Forest City, outside Huanzhen Temple—that was Zhuang Kingdom's territory! Yet powerful cultivators from Qin and Chu had fought there with brazen disregard for all restraint. No one in Maple Forest City, not even Qinghe Prefecture, had dared interfere. To Zhuang Kingdom's cultivators, that was a tremendous humiliation.

Dong A suppressed his anger only because he didn't want to expose Zhuang Kingdom's weakness or undermine his disciples' confidence in their cultivation.

He must be a good headmaster.

Jiang Wang silently studied this mid-ranking powerhouse, who would direct his cultivation for a long time to come. Before today, he had never had the opportunity.

As he observed and pieced things together, he finished recounting the story he had already planned out.

"The origins of your Vein-Opening Pill are clear. I reviewed your records from your time in the outer court. You know your limits and make your own decisions. That's commendable."

Dong A glanced at Jiang Wang before saying, "From now on, you may call yourself my disciple when you're before me."

Jiang Wang's nerves finally relaxed. He knew he had made it through this ordeal. He had also gained the recognition of the head of Maple Forest Dao Academy and been admitted directly to the inner court.

He crossed his thumbs, left hand outside and right hand inside, clasped his fists before his chest, and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Master."

The Confucian Sect upheld the bond between Heaven, Earth, ruler, parents, and teacher. But in the Daoist Sect, the teacher came before ruler and parents, because a teacher transmitted the Dao and expounded the Great Way.

To every inner-court disciple of Maple Forest Dao Academy, Dong A was their honored master.

Dong A closed his eyes and said no more. "You may go."

After leaving the headmaster's meditation room, Jiang Wang walked alongside Ling He and Zhao Rucheng, who had been waiting outside.

For a while, none of the three spoke. The mood was heavy.

Jiang Wang had returned, but Fang Pengju had died. The so-called Five Heroes of Maple Forest were still gone in all but name.

Since Du Yehu hadn't shown up here, he must have gone off to some corner to drink. Of the group, he seemed the most carefree, but he was probably the least able to face something like this. No matter how harshly he cursed or how much hatred he felt, he couldn't erase the fact that he had once treated Fang Pengju like a real brother.

As the eldest, Ling He was the first to break the silence. "You two go back to the dormitory. I still need to take Pengju's body back to Fang Mansion."

Outer-court disciples at Maple Forest Dao Academy shared rooms six to a dormitory. Since the Five Heroes of Maple Forest had hit it off, they had simply moved into the same dorm. No one else could break into their circle, so the five of them had always shared one room.

Jiang Wang said nothing.

Ling He was simply like that. No matter how many things Fang Pengju had done wrong, he couldn't leave his body unattended.

"Do you still hate Fourth Brother?" Ling He asked.

"Stop calling him Fourth Brother," Zhao Rucheng said, a hint of disgust on his handsome face. "I'm ashamed to even speak of a man who plotted against his brothers—someone so despicable and vicious."

For his age, Ling He looked unusually mature. That was probably part of why people trusted him more readily. Among the five, he had always played the role of the eldest brother, looking after his younger companions.

His steady, mature side often made people forget that he was only nineteen, just two years older than Jiang Wang and three years older than Zhao Rucheng.

But poverty made children grow up early.

Looking at Ling He, Jiang Wang shook his head and said, "There's no point hating him. I only hate how foolish I was, and that I trusted the wrong person."

Though he seemed so calm, Ling He still heard the resentment Jiang Wang couldn't let go of. He could understand it perfectly.

"Trust is one of the brightest things in this world. Trust isn't a mistake, Jiang Wang," Ling He said. "The one at fault is the person who betrayed your trust."

He said no more, but his earnest gaze told Jiang Wang the rest.

The brotherly bond between us was no mistake, and it was never false. The only thing wrong, the only thing false, was the person who betrayed it all. Fang Pengju.

That was why he had to take Fang Pengju's body back, so that he wouldn't be left without a place even after death. It wasn't because he approved of Fang Pengju or pitied him. It was simply out of respect for and loyalty to the brotherhood they had once shared—a bond that should never have changed.

That was Ling He.

Whether it was the hot-tempered Du Yehu or the arrogant Fang Pengju, both had willingly called him their eldest brother. And it wasn't just because he was older.

"Go ahead. The dead are like extinguished lamps; all grudges die with them." Jiang Wang stopped walking. "But I can't bring myself to go with you."

"Neither can I," Zhao Rucheng added unexpectedly.

Ling He patted Zhao Rucheng on the shoulder, then gave Jiang Wang a long look before turning and walking away.