I Was the One Who Killed Him

A martial uncle of the Wuzhang Realm on Jade Lake Peak had died. He was said to have been murdered.

The martial uncle's body had been found beside a stream. It was said to have been a gruesome sight, his entire head severed.

Without question, this was the most heinous incident to occur among the Green Mountain Nine Peaks in recent years.

The martial uncle was said to have been a trusted confidant of Jade Lake Peak's master, who valued him highly. With the peak master currently recovering from his injuries, the disciples on the peak had already been somewhat unsettled. This sudden incident naturally provoked tremendous anger, putting Shangde Peak under enormous pressure.

If a powerful spy from another sect had infiltrated the Nine Peaks, that would certainly have been a dereliction of duty on Shangde Peak's part.

That possibility was unlikely, because there was no reason someone powerful enough to kill a Wuzhang Realm expert would not have alerted the Green Mountain Grand Array.

The greater likelihood was that the Jade Lake Peak martial uncle had died at the hands of someone from his own sect.

If that truly was the case, Shangde Peak, responsible for overseeing all the peaks, would bear the brunt of it all the more.

Shangde Peak sent out many stewards and disciples to investigate, but they could find no leads.

Whether they were experts from other peaks who had been at odds with the deceased, or the few elders with violent dispositions and past records of wrongdoing, all had witnesses to account for their whereabouts that night.

The incident seemed shrouded in layer upon layer of fog.

The disciples along Sword-Washing Creek were low in cultivation and naturally could not be involved in this matter. Shangde Peak would not come to question them in its investigation, either. But they could still sense that something was wrong with the atmosphere lately; the immortal masters teaching their lessons were visibly preoccupied. Once they learned what had happened, they could not help feeling both shocked and afraid, and grew much quieter.

Liu S sui was a man of few words. In principle, it should have been difficult for anyone to notice that he was quieter than usual. Yet the fat Ma Hua felt that something was wrong with him. Besides being even more silent, Liu S sui was actually losing focus frequently during sword practice. Over the last two days, he had nearly injured himself several times-something exceedingly rare.

Ma Hua had wanted to probe a little, but then thought that Liu S sui was still a boy, after all. It was normal for his mind to be unsettled after suddenly hearing of something like this.

Only a monstrous girl like Zhao Layue would remain completely unaffected, surely?

He thought this as he looked at Sword Peak, shrouded in clouds and mist.

That night, Liu S sui went to Jing Jiu's cave abode. He had not visited in a long time.

Jing Jiu was a little surprised.

Liu S sui's face was somewhat pale and his eyes a little red. He clearly had not slept well.

Jing Jiu thought he was worried about the Sword Inheritance Assembly. He reached out to pat his head and said, "You're a good fit for Twofold Forgetting Peak. They won't turn you away."

Liu S sui raised his head and suddenly asked, "Young master... was it you?"

Jing Jiu made a sound of assent or inquiry; it was unclear whether his tone rose or fell at the end.

Liu S sui stared at him, his eyes somewhat vacant, and said, "That night... I came, but you weren't here."

Only then did Jing Jiu learn that Liu S sui had come looking for him that night. Presumably, he had not seen him, only the Sword Token.

He smiled and said, "You think I could kill that man?"

How could a Sword Washing disciple who did not even have a sword kill a Wuzhang Realm expert?

That was why Shangde Peak's investigation stayed far away from Sword-Washing Creek.

Never mind Jing Jiu-even the outstanding disciples of higher cultivation in Sword-Washing Pavilion's Class One had not drawn a single suspicious glance.

Hearing Jing Jiu's words, Liu S sui looked somewhat bewildered.

"Yesterday, Senior Brother Gu and the others said the cut on the dead martial uncle's neck was very smooth. The killer should be an expert in the Wandering the Wilds Realm, or have used an unrivaled sword."

"I remember very clearly. You said what you were best at was... cutting things off."

"Where did you go the night before last, young master?"

"Young master, I really am a little scared."

Jing Jiu looked at Liu S sui's small face.

For the first time, he realized that S sui's face could be this pale.

Of course he could deceive Liu S sui. He could easily find countless reasons to explain why he, who never left his cave abode, had gone out that night. For instance, he had had a fortuitous encounter on Sword Peak, or had gone to watch the apes at play... because he knew that Jing Jiu only needed him to give a reason to set his mind at ease.

But for some reason, he did not do so.

"Yes."

"Huh?"

"I was the one who killed him."

The cave abode became extraordinarily quiet. The sound of Sword-Washing Creek flowing below the cliff could be heard clearly.

Then came Liu S sui's increasingly ragged breathing.

His face, too, grew paler and paler.

"Young master... you... just what... kind of person are you?"

Three years ago at South Pine Pavilion, Liu S sui had asked Jing Jiu this question, more than once.

Today, he asked it again.

He knew Jing Jiu had secrets, and Jing Jiu did not want contact with Twofold Forgetting Peak, so there might be something wrong with those secrets.

But he had never imagined that Jing Jiu would actually... kill an elder of their sect!

"What kind of person I am isn't important. You can report this to your teachers, or... that senior brother of yours. In fact, you should have done that long ago."

Jing Jiu said.

Back at South Pine Pavilion, he had also asked Liu S sui this question, likewise more than once.

Liu S sui lowered his head and said, "I know your secrets because you never tried to hide them from me, young master. A lot of the time, it was because you wanted to help me."

The breathing in the little mountain village, for instance, or the pill dissolved in the tea-these were all Jing Jiu's secrets, but he had benefited from them.

"You're overthinking it." Jing Jiu smiled and said, "Mostly, I couldn't be bothered. We were together every day back then. Hiding things from you would have been too much trouble."

Was it only because it was too much trouble?

Liu S sui stood up and walked toward the entrance of the cave abode, looking somewhat pitiful.

It had been nearly three years since they left the mountain village. The child had become a youth; some things were different, after all.

At the entrance, Liu S sui stopped. Without looking back, he asked in a slightly trembling voice, "...That martial uncle... was he a bad person?"

Jing Jiu looked down at the Sword Scripture and did not answer the question.

Liu S sui stood at the entrance, unwilling to leave.

After an unknown length of time, Jing Jiu's voice finally sounded.

"From where I stand, of course he was a bad person."

Liu S sui said nothing and left just like that.

Jing Jiu had not considered whether Liu S sui would report him.

To return to the Green Mountain Sect, he had spent an entire year working through possibilities in that little mountain village. Though unforeseen changes were certain to arise, he still had sufficient means to deal with them.

Of course, it was also possible that he did not want to think about this question.

He was thinking about something else now.

In the early morning, the sun was still beyond the peaks, and Sword-Washing Creek murmured softly in the quiet.

He looked at the creek and thought for a while.

When the red sun leaped above the mountaintop, he thought for a while.

By noon, with the sunlight blazing, he looked back at the distant peak shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and thought some more.

"I'd better go take a look."

He spoke to himself.

Having said he would look, he went. Leaving his cave abode, he followed Sword-Washing Creek toward that peak.

Every time he came out, he drew many gazes and stirred much discussion. This time was no exception.

Counting carefully, he had entered the inner sect half a year ago, and this was the third time he had left his cave abode and appeared before everyone.

Laziness-or rather, reclusiveness-to his degree was exceedingly rare even in the cultivation world, where people were accustomed to coming and going alone.

As he passed the stone wall at the end of the creek and continued toward the Nine Peaks, more and more gazes settled on him, and the discussion grew louder and louder.

That direction should lead to Sword Peak.

"Is that fellow going to get a sword?"

The disciples standing on the creek's surface practicing with their flying swords instinctively stopped what they were doing.

Ma Hua murmured as he watched Jing Jiu in the distance.

Then he noticed that Liu S sui remained completely unaffected, still practicing his sword with full concentration.