"Bai Tianqu?"
"Bai Tianqu knew all along that the Joy-in-Death Tower intended to move against the Sword Treatise, didn't he?"
Pei Ye nodded. He remembered this part: Bai Tianqu had told Chi Jianzong, who controlled the mountain formation, and they had killed Chi Jianzong because he opposed it.
But.
"But that was the strongest evidence of Kongtong's collusion with the Joy-in-Death Tower," Sui Zaihua said. "If Bai Tianqu was in seclusion inside the Sword Formation built by the Joy-in-Death Tower, what reason would anyone have to believe Kongtong knew nothing when Ming Qitian was killed?"
"..."
"Bai Tianqu and Ji Changyun would never truly break with each other." Sui Zaihua sighed softly. "Unlike Xiao Tingshu, Bai Tianqu was a disciple Ji Changyun had raised from childhood. They were as close as father and son."
Pei Ye stared. "But they really did fight over the position of Sect Master because of the Sword Repository..."
"Of course. Even a master and disciple as close as father and son can have irreconcilable differences," Sui Zaihua said softly. Looking out at the curtain of rain, he fell silent for a moment. "Shouting and arguing, neither giving an inch, slamming the door on the way out, then both lying in bed feeling miserable-all perfectly common."
He was quiet for a moment, then suddenly glanced at Pei Ye with a smile. "Have you ever experienced that?"
Pei Ye paused. The old man back home was certainly stubborn too, but shouting matches and slammed doors were rather hard to imagine...
Sui Zaihua looked away and smiled. "No? That's a kind of good fortune too-but very often, they still won't truly 'break' with each other."
"In fact, if you look closely, you'll see that they fought for the position of Sect Master to carry out their respective paths