Chapter 127: That Same Autumn Mountain (Part 1)
The disciple from Li Mountain stood before the cave dwelling, his robes stained with blood. He had not retreated half a step nor shown the slightest trace of fear—his loyalty and courage were beyond question. Yet even he could not help but ask that question at this moment. The various peaks were silent, all sharing the same sentiment. The vast majority of Li Mountain disciples stood firmly with the Sect Master, filled with righteous indignation at the shameless actions of the three elders, including Xiaosong Palace. But now, something had shifted. Su Li was the idol of Li Mountain, yet if what Elder Xiaosong Palace said was true, then that idol was beginning to crumble.
From Lianshi Peak ahead, a disciple’s voice rang out: “If Senior Brother Qijian really is… the offspring of a demon… then perhaps… the Discipline Hall should conduct a thorough interrogation?”
Baicai was furious at this, but before he could say anything, he saw a Li Mountain disciple beside him fall to his knees with a thud. Facing the Sect Master’s back, the disciple kowtowed repeatedly until blood seeped from his forehead.
“Master, if… Little Junior Brother truly is the daughter of Grandmaster Uncle and the Demon Princess, why must you shield him with all your might? A few days ago, when they said Little Junior Brother killed Third Senior Brother, I refused to believe it. But if demonic filth flows in her veins and she conspires with that wolf-tribe fiend, then what wouldn’t she do?”
The Sect Master looked at this disciple, who was usually the most respectful to him, and let out a soft sigh. This disciple’s entire family had been slaughtered by the demon army—how could he blame him for anything?
Baicai glared at those two disciples, listening to the rising murmurs from the distant peaks, his anger burning even hotter. He shouted, “Disciples of Li Mountain, swayed by the enemy’s lies—where has your sword heart gone?”
The peaks quieted somewhat, and the main peak followed suit.
Xiaosong Palace sneered coldly, looking at him and saying, “If your sword heart is truly untainted, why do you only dare to scold your fellow disciples, yet dare not ask your master to verify the truth of this matter?”
Baicai glared back at him, gritting his teeth but remaining silent.
Silence sometimes signifies the utmost rage, sometimes indicates there is nothing to say, and sometimes implies tacit agreement. From the moment Xiaosong Palace claimed that Qijian was the daughter of the Demon Princess and Su Li, some time had passed. The Sect Master of Li Mountain stood before the cave dwelling, his demeanor desolate, having said nothing all along. His meaning was already painfully clear.
The dozens of Li Mountain disciples before the cave dwelling, and the many more across the peaks, all stared at the Sect Master.
Even now, they remained loyal to Li Mountain, supported the Sect Master, and scorned Xiaosong Palace and the two Discipline Hall elders. But now, they had begun to believe that Qijian—and even Su Li—had some connection to the demons. Otherwise, why would Third Senior Brother Liang Xiaoxiao have looked at her with such a complex, anguished gaze before his death?
Even Baicai’s sword heart wavered at this moment, his emotions clouded with confusion.
Over a decade ago, Li Mountain—and indeed the entire human world—had been turned upside down because of two women. Now, more than ten years later, this matter had finally returned to Li Mountain, beginning to reshape its situation.
Just then, the Sect Master of Li Mountain finally spoke again. He looked into Xiaosong Palace’s eyes and said, “You should not know of this matter, because everyone who knew of it back then is dead. Aside from the three Saints and myself, no one knows of this—not even the Demon Lord. So, how did you come to know of it?”
This was a difficult question to answer, so Xiaosong Palace’s expression turned icy, and he showed no intention of replying.
“Even if the Heavenly Sea Saint Queen and His Holiness the Pope wanted to kill Little Master Uncle, the Saints’ hearts drift among the stars and seas, unable to break the oaths of old. The other Saint would never harm Little Master Uncle either.”
The Sect Master did not explain why that other Saint would not harm Su Li, speaking as if it were self-evident. Then he continued, “So, how were you able to learn this secret?”
Xiaosong Palace sneered, “I told you—there are no absolute secrets in this world.”
The Sect Master’s expression turned stern. “Back then, Little Master Uncle went north to Xunyang City and killed everyone in the Liang Prince’s Mansion who knew of this. The Saint Queen and His Holiness also conducted a purge to guard this secret. I’m very curious—who exactly did the three of them miss?”
Xiaosong Palace’s expression tightened. He had only just learned that behind that bloody purge back then lay the will of such three great figures.
The Sect Master continued, “If you cannot name your source, then I can only assume this is the work of the Black Robe.”
This was a crude deduction, but in the Eastern Lands, it was the most convincing one. Because there was an almost universal belief in the human world, the demon realm, and the demon race: the Black Robe knew all secrets under heaven.
“If the Black Robe truly told you this… you say Little Master Uncle conspired with the demons—what about you? Using the demon army’s strategist to undermine Li Mountain’s foundation—isn’t that conspiracy?”
Truly worthy of being the Sect Master of the Li Mountain Sword Sect—every word was a sword. Though severely wounded by the sneak attack, this roar, filled with fury and battle intent, still thundered like a clap of thunder across Li Mountain’s peaks, cutting off all murmurs instantly. The tide turned once more.
The two Discipline Hall elders clearly did not know the source of this information and instinctively looked toward Xiaosong Palace. Finally unable to withstand the power of words turned into swords, Xiaosong Palace’s face paled slightly as he said, “Liang Xiaoxiao left a suicide letter before his death.”
The Sect Master fell silent, then said, “So that’s how it is.”
He turned to the elder from the Eternal Life Sect and said, “I recall that back then, it was Senior Brother Jiang who brought those two children to Li Mountain. It seems now that he already knew of his origins at that time.”
Elder Jiang was silent for a moment before replying, “I don’t know when he learned of his origins. I only learned of these matters after seeing the suicide letter that Zhuang Huanyu secretly sent to the Eternal Life Sect.”
The Sect Master said, “Liang Banhu clearly still doesn’t know his origins, let alone the great event of that year. Xiaoxiao was slightly younger—why did Elder Liang entrust the matter of revenge to him before his death?”
Elder Jiang replied, “Perhaps Elder Liang saw over a decade ago that Liang Banhu was too sincere and honest, far less ruthless and steady than his younger brother.”
Indeed, when it came to ruthlessness and steadiness, who among the younger generation could match Liang Xiaoxiao? Even though he was now dead.
A young genius, his cultivation level merely at the Tongyou realm, yet with great ambition, he dared to make even Saints tread through bitter seas. Using his own death, he stirred up countless storms within Li Mountain—targeting Chen Changsheng and Wofu Zhexiu? That was just a smokescreen, a means to muddy the waters, something he was willing to do as a side task. His true target had always been Li Mountain, and Su Li.
Liang Xiaoxiao knew well that he would never have the chance to kill Su Li in his lifetime, and even harming Qijian secretly would be difficult. So he chose the most desperate path, using the most extreme means. He aimed to destroy Qijian’s reputation. Reputation required no evidence—only malicious speculation to ruin it. Moreover, in the eyes of the world, he was the senior brother who doted most on that Qijian. He aimed to destroy Su Li’s legend. Legends are the most sacred and solemn, yet also the easiest to tarnish, because Su Li himself had done too many things that invited defamation.
He and the unfathomable demon army strategist in the distant snowy plains—one in the south, one in the north—echoed each other from afar, setting up a double killing game: inside and outside the Zhou Garden, and in Xunyang and Li Mountain.
For this, he only needed to pay the price of his life, then leave behind a gaze and a suicide letter.
Before his death, he must have calculated everything perfectly. Though he died, countless others would follow his arrangements to continue this scheme, wielding his gaze and his letter to keep fighting.
The entire world would avenge him, avenge his ancestors.
I believe that at the moment he stopped breathing outside the Zhou Garden, Liang Xiaoxiao was calm and joyful.
Xiaosong Palace said nothing. The two Discipline Hall elders said nothing. The Eternal Life Sect’s Elder Jiang also fell silent. The Sect Master stood behind dozens of sword lights, quietly gazing at the sword in his right hand, lost in thought. They were all powerful figures at the Juxing Upper Realm, capable of killing a junior like Liang Xiaoxiao with a wave of their hands. Yet now, having fully understood Liang Xiaoxiao’s intentions and actions, they inexplicably felt a sense of awe toward that deceased junior.
If they knew that Zhou Tong had once called Liang Xiaoxiao his best successor, they might have felt the same.
In a very short time, the Sect Master of Li Mountain seemed to have aged somewhat. Understanding everything now, a faint regret arose in his heart. Liang Xiaoxiao had lived in hatred since childhood, yet had to hide it even from his own brother—what kind of pain must that have been? Why had he never noticed anything unusual about him?
The silence was finally broken, and the speaker was the head of the Qiushan family. Before dawn, he had ascended the main peak of Li Mountain with Xiaosong Palace and the others. Since then, this head of the Qiushan family and that unfathomably powerful retainer had not spoken a word, though their stance was already clear from where they stood.
“This matter must be resolved,” the Qiushan family head said gently to the Sect Master.
This head of a prestigious family from the Southern Lands even wore a smile, yet his words were harsh: “Since Qijian carries demon blood in her veins, she should naturally be handed over to the Discipline Hall for interrogation. Master Su Li must also bear responsibility for concealing this, but since he has already died in Xunyang City, let it be. As for you, Sect Master… I believe it is indeed time for you to step down.”
These were the demands that Xiaosong Palace had raised earlier, and the Qiushan family head reiterated them.
The Li Mountain disciples across the peaks grew tense once more.
This was an internal strife, a confrontation between two factions. It had even exceeded the bounds of Li Mountain, becoming a clash between two major powers in the Southern Lands. At stake was the position of Li Mountain Sect Master and the authority of the Ten Thousand Swords. So far, not much blood had been spilled—would Li Mountain truly be stained red today?
More crucially, though these words were a reiteration, they came from the mouth of the Qiushan family head. This carried far more weight than Xiaosong Palace’s earlier accusations, not only because of the Qiushan family’s status in the Southern Lands, but also because… he was the father of Qiushan Jun.
(Next chapter, aiming for before midnight.)