TFOD Chapter 93

Wei Wuxian said, “Then regarding what you’ve said, do you have any evidence?”

Sisi said, “No.”

Sect Leader Yao immediately said, “She described the details so clearly, she definitely isn’t lying!”

Lan Qiren furrowed his brows, turning to another woman, he said, “I seem to have seen you before.”

That woman looked flustered, saying, “Probably…probably have seen me before.”

The others were taken aback: This Sisi was a wild prostitute, could it be that this woman was also one? How could Lan Qiren have seen her?

That woman said, “When the Leling Qin Clan held their discussion conference, I often accompanied my Madam.”

“The Leling Qin Clan?” A female cultivator said, “Are you a maidservant of the Leling Qin Clan?”

An even more sharp-eyed female cultivator directly shouted out her name, “You are…Bicao, Qin Madam’s personal maidservant, Bicao! Am I right?”

The Qin Madam she spoke of was referring to Qin Cangye’s wife, the birth mother of Jin Guangyao’s wife, Qin Su. This woman nodded, saying, “But now, I am no longer with the Qin family.”

Sect Leader Yao was extremely excited, slamming his hand on the table and standing up, he said, “Do you also have things you want to tell us?”

Bicao’s eyes were red, “What I have to say happened a bit earlier, twelve or thirteen years ago.

“I served my Madam for many years and watched my young lady grow up. Madam was always very concerned about her, but in the days leading up to my young lady’s marriage, Madam was always in a bad mood. Every night, she would have nightmares, and during the day, she would suddenly burst into tears. I thought she was reluctant to let her daughter marry and kept comforting her, saying that the one my young lady was marrying, Lianfang-Zun Jin Guangyao, was young and promising, and also gentle, considerate, and faithful. My young lady would have a good life. Who knew that after hearing that, Madam looked even more distressed.

“As the wedding date approached, one night, Madam suddenly told me that she was going to see her young lady’s future husband, and it had to be now, asking me to secretly accompany her. I said, you can summon him to see you, why do you have to go to see a young man in the middle of the night, so surreptitiously? If people find out, who knows what kind of rumors it would start. But Madam was adamant, so I had to go with her. But after arriving, she told me to stay outside and not to enter. So I didn’t hear anything, didn’t know what she and Jin Guangyao said. I only knew that a few days later, the date of my young lady’s marriage was set, and as soon as Madam saw the invitation, she fainted. And after my young lady’s marriage, Madam was always depressed, developed a mental illness, and became increasingly ill. Before dying, she couldn’t hold on any longer and told me everything.”

Bicao said while crying, “Lianfang-Zun Jin Guangyao and my young lady Qin Su, they were not husband and wife at all, they were actually siblings…”

“What?!”

Even if a thunderclap exploded in the Discussion Hall right now, it wouldn’t be more powerful than this sentence. Wei Wuxian’s mind flashed with Qin Su’s pale face. Bicao said, “My Madam was so unfortunate…That thing, Old Sect Leader Jin, was not human; he coveted my Madam’s appearance. One time, after getting drunk outside, he forced himself on her…How could Madam resist? Afterwards, she didn’t dare to speak out. My master was loyal to Jin Guangshan, she was extremely afraid. Jin Guangshan couldn’t remember whose daughter the young lady was, but my Madam could never forget. She didn’t dare look for Jin Guangshan, knowing that the young lady was in love with Jin Guangyao. After struggling for a long time, she still went to see him quietly before the wedding, revealing some of the truth, begging him to find a way to cancel the marriage, and absolutely not make a grave mistake. Who knew…who knew that Jin Guangyao, knowing that the young lady was his own younger sister, still married her!”

What was even more terrifying was that not only did he marry her, but the two also had a child!

This was truly a shocking scandal!

The tide of discussions surged higher than ever before. “Sect Leader Qin followed Jin Guangshan for so many years, yet he even had to taint the wife of his old subordinate. This Jin Guangshan!”

“In the end, there is no wall that can keep out the wind…”

“For Jin Guangyao to gain a firm foothold in the Lanling Jin Sect, he had to have Qin Cangye, this solid father-in-law, to support him, how could he be willing to not marry her?”

“When it comes to being heartless and mad, he is truly unparalleled in the world!”

Wei Wuxian whispered to Lan Wangji, “No wonder he said to Qin Su in the secret room, ‘A-Song must die.'”

In the Discussion Hall, there were also others who thought of A-Song. Sect Leader Yao said, “Looking at it like this, if I dare to speculate, his son was probably not harmed by others at all, but he did it himself.”

“How so?”

Sect Leader Yao analyzed, “The child born of closely related siblings, eight or nine times out of ten, would be an imbecile. Jin Rulan died when he was just a few years old, precisely at the age of childhood education. When children are very young, others can’t see anything wrong with them, but once they grow up, it would expose the fact that he was different from other people. Even if they didn’t suspect the blood ties of the parents, if an imbecile was born, others would inevitably gossip about Jin Guangyao, pointing fingers, saying it was because he carried the dirty blood of a prostitute that such a child was born…”

Everyone felt this was very logical, saying, “Sect Leader Yao is truly sharp!”

Sect Leader Yao then said, “Moreover, the person who poisoned Jin Rulan back then just happened to be the family head who was against him building the watchtower, how could it be so coincidental?” He sneered, “In any case, Jin Guangyao didn’t need to keep a son who was very likely to be an idiot. He killed Jin Rulan, framed it on the family head who was against him, then, under the pretext of avenging his son, openly and justly attacked the family that did not submit to him – though cold and heartless, it was a double-edged sword. Lianfang-Zun really has good methods!”

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian turned to Bicao, “That night at the Jinlintai Discussion Conference, did you see Qin Su?”

Bicao was taken aback, Wei Wuxian said, “That night in the Fragrant Splendor Hall, Qin Su had an argument with Jin Guangyao, she said she went to see someone, that someone told her certain things and also gave her a letter, that person would absolutely not deceive her, are you the one she spoke of?”

Bicao said, “It was me.”

Wei Wuxian said, “You guarded this secret for so many years, why did you suddenly decide to tell her? And why did you suddenly decide to make it public?”

Bicao said, “Because…I have to let the young lady see what kind of person her husband is. Originally, I didn’t want to make it public, but the young lady inexplicably committed suicide at Jinlintai, I had to reveal the true face of this beast in human clothing, to seek justice for my Madam and young lady.”

Wei Wuxian smiled, saying, “Don’t you know? It was precisely because you told your young lady that she inexplicably committed suicide.”

Bicao said, “I…” Sect Leader Yao was dissatisfied, saying, “I can’t agree with what you are saying, does it mean that hiding the truth is right?”

Immediately, someone backed him up, “You can’t blame others, sigh, Qin Su was still too fragile.”

Several older female cultivators said, “Qin Su is truly pitiful.”

“Back then, I was still envious of her, thinking what luck, good birth, also married well, the unique hostess of Jinlintai, her husband single-mindedly devoted to her, who knew, tsk, tsk.”

A Madam said in a detached manner, “So those things that seem beautiful, behind them are often riddled with holes. There is nothing to be envious about.”

Wei Wuxian thought, “I’m afraid that Qin Su chose to commit suicide precisely because she couldn’t bear those seemingly sympathetic pitying, yet actually gossipy chatter.”

He looked down and suddenly saw that Bicao’s wrist had a jadeite gold bracelet, of excellent quality, definitely not something a maidservant could afford, smiling, he said, “The bracelet is not bad.”

Bicao quickly pulled her sleeves, lowering her head, not saying anything.

Nie Huaisang said blankly, “But…but who exactly are those who brought these two here today…what kind of background do they have?”

Sect Leader Yao said, “Why bother dwelling on this! Regardless of who it is, one thing is certain: he is a righteous man, definitely on our side.”

Immediately, echoes of agreement resounded, “Indeed!”

Wei Wuxian said, “The one who saved Miss Sisi is indeed not simple, rich and free. However, a righteous man? That is yet to be determined.”

Lan Wangji said, “Many doubts remain.”

If Wei Wuxian said these words, not many people would pay attention, but the one who spoke was Lan Wangji, everyone immediately quieted down. Lan Qiren said, “Where are the doubts?”

Wei Wuxian said, “There are quite a few. For example, Jin Guangyao is so ruthless, why did he kill twenty people, but only leave Sisi alone? Now we have a witness, but what about the physical evidence?”

He kept making dissenting remarks, seeming out of place amidst the impassioned crowd, some people were already displeased. Sect Leader Yao said loudly, “This is what’s called, the net of heaven is vast, but no one can escape it.”

Hearing this, Wei Wuxian smiled slightly, no longer speaking.

He knew that now no one would listen to his words, nor would anyone carefully consider his doubts. If he said a few more words, others might start targeting him again. If it were ten-odd years ago, he would not care about others at all, saying whatever he wanted, whether you listened or not. But now, Wei Wuxian had little interest in being the center of attention anymore.

Therefore, the condemnation of the crowd in the hall started, each wave louder than the last:

“I didn’t expect this person to be so ungrateful, so heartless!”

The words “ungrateful” and “heartless” had been almost always tied to Wei Wuxian for over a decade. At first, he thought they were scolding him again, only to realize later. The people scolding were the same, the words used were the same, but the target was different; he was a little unaccustomed to it.

Then, another person said, “Back then, Jin Guangyao was only able to climb step by step by pleasing Chifeng-Zun and Ze Wu-Jun, otherwise how could a son of a prostitute sit in today’s position? He even struck out against Chifeng-Zun! Ze Wu-Jun is still there, we can only hope that nothing goes wrong!”

Before, they did not believe that Nie Mingjue’s death, dismemberment, and the fierce corpses attacking the Burial Mounds were related to Jin Guangyao, but now, they suddenly believed it all.

“Not just sworn brothers, even real brothers cannot escape the calamity. In the last few years before Jin Guangshan died, he was busy everywhere cleaning up his father’s illegitimate children, afraid that someone would come out and snatch his position. Mo Xuanyu was considered lucky, if he hadn’t gone mad and been driven back, he might have disappeared due to various reasons like the others.”

“Jin Zixuan’s death is definitely related to him too!”

“Who still remembers Xiao Xingchen back then? The bright moon and clear breeze Xiao Xingchen. There was also the Li Yang Chang case, Xue Yang was also protected by this Lianfang-Zun.”

“When Daoist Xiao Xingchen first came down the mountain, didn’t many families want to invite him as a guest? The Lanling Jin family also invited him to join, but it was politely rejected. The Jin family was so proud at that time, but got rejected by a small Daoist, feeling they lost face, so later, when the Lanling Jin family wanted to protect Xue Yang, there was also this old grudge, in short, they wanted to see Xiao Xingchen’s tragic ending.”

“Bah! What do they think they are, if you don’t join, they’ll make you suffer?”

“Alas, such a pity. Back then, I was fortunate enough to witness Daoist Xiao Xingchen’s demeanor during night hunts. With one stroke of Frost Blossom, the world would move.”

“Jin Guangyao later eliminated Xue Yang, a real case of dogs biting dogs.”

“I heard that when Jin Guangyao was an undercover agent at the Qishan Wen sect, he wasn’t honest at all. His plan was like this: if the Sun Shooting Campaign didn’t go well, then he would continue to be a lackey in the Wen family, currying favor with Wen Ruohan. If the Wen family were to fall, then he would turn against them and become the hero.”

“Wen Ruohan will probably be furious even from the Nine Springs. Back then, he was cultivating Jin Guangyao as his close confidant. Jin Guangyao’s current swordsmanship is seventy to eighty percent what Wen Ruohan taught him!”

“What is that? I heard that the reason why Chifeng-Zun’s surprise attack failed was because he deliberately sent out false information!”

“Let me also tell a secret, didn’t the money and resources for building the watchtower come from plundering other families? Every family has made an effort, I heard he would secretly pocket some…this amount.”

“Heavens…so much, he really has no shame. I even thought he sincerely wanted to do good, and our genuine sincerity was wasted on a dog!”

Wei Wuxian found it rather comical, thinking, “Since they are rumors, why rush to believe them? Since they are secrets, how did you find out?”

These rumors were not new. However, in the past when Jin Guangyao was in power, they were well-suppressed, and no one took them seriously. But tonight, the rumors seemed to have all turned into solid evidence, becoming the cornerstone of Jin Guangyao’s countless crimes, used to prove his heartlessness and madness.

“Looking at it like this, this Jin person has killed his father, killed his brother, killed his wife, killed his son, killed his master, killed his friends…and committed incest. He is truly terrifying!”

“The Lanling Jin family is tyrannical and domineering, Jin Guangyao is even more autocratic and acts arbitrarily, never listening to other people’s opinions. Now, this extravagant, bullying atmosphere is all Jin Guangyao’s fault. Do they really think we will always tolerate this resentment?!”

“He sees that in recent years, the strength of each family has been constantly expanding, creating a sense of threat. He is afraid of being overthrown like the Qishan Wen Sect back then, so he decided to do it all and try to wipe us all out in one fell swoop?”

Sect Leader Yao sneered, “Since that’s the case, we’ll let the thing he fears most become a reality.” He slammed the table, “Attack Jinlintai!”

Amidst the cheers, Wei Wuxian thought, “Just before today, this terrible person was still the highly praised Lianfang-Zun, yet in one day, everyone is shouting to beat him.”

Suddenly, someone next to him turned his head, “Mr. Wei, Jin Guangyao has the Yin Tiger Seal in his hands, we’ll have to rely on you for this.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Ah?”

He didn’t expect someone to take the initiative to speak to him, and so enthusiastically, even using ‘Mr.’ instead of derogatory terms such as ‘Wei thief’ or ‘Wei dog,’ he was slightly stunned. Then, another family head also said, “That’s right! In this path, no one can surpass the Yi Ling Patriarch!”

“This time, Jin Guangyao has kicked a steel plate, hahahaha…”

Wei Wuxian was momentarily speechless. The last time others had flattered and praised him like this was more than a decade ago during the Sun Shooting Campaign. Although he had finally lived to see someone else take his place as the public enemy, Wei Wuxian didn’t taste much of the relief of hardship, and felt no emotion at being accepted by the world. In his heart, he couldn’t help but wonder, “Back then, were they also gathered in a certain place, having a secret meeting, cursing to the heavens and earth, and then deciding to besiege the Burial Mounds?”

After the meeting ended, the banquet hall of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect was ready. However, after the banquet began, there were two missing figures. One family head asked in surprise, “Why are the Wei…the Yi Ling Patriarch and Hanguang-Jun missing?”

Jiang Cheng was sitting in the head seat, asking the guest retainer next to him, “Where are they?”

That guest retainer said, “After the two of them left the inner hall, they went to change their clothes, saying they wouldn’t join the banquet, they’d go out for a walk and come back later.”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Still the same, without any sense of etiquette.”

These words seemed to include Lan Wangji as well, Lan Qiren’s face turned displeased. If even Lan Wangji could be said to lack etiquette, then there was no such thing as etiquette in the world. Thinking of this, he started to grind his teeth again at Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng then adjusted his expression, courteously saying, “Everyone, please start eating first, I’ll go invite them back later.”

Outside of Lotus Pier, before the wharf, Lan Wangji let Wei Wuxian lead him, not asking where they were going, leisurely strolling along.

There were a few food stalls on the wharf. Wei Wuxian walked over, looking at them, and smiled, “It was right not to eat with them, Lan Zhan, come, come, this pancake is delicious. It’s my treat! Please give us two.”

The stall owner was all smiles as he wrapped two pancakes in oiled paper. Wei Wuxian was about to take them, when he suddenly remembered, he was penniless, how would he pay? But Lan Wangji had already taken them for him, paying with one hand. Wei Wuxian said, “Oh dear. Sorry, how is it always like this? It seems that every time I want to treat you to something, I never manage it.”

Lan Wangji said, “It’s alright.”

Wei Wuxian lowered his head and took a bite, saying, “Before, when I wanted something to eat at the wharf, I didn’t need to pay, I could eat and take as much as I wanted, eat and walk, grab and run. After a month, the stall owner would naturally go to Uncle Jiang for the bill.”

Lan Wangji left a small crescent-shaped bite mark on his round pancake, saying in a calm voice, “You don’t need to pay now either.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Hahahaha hahahahaha!”

He finished it in two or three bites, crumpled the oiled paper into a ball, tossing it in his hand while looking around, saying, “There are no other stalls. Before, this place was crowded with stalls no matter how late, selling all kinds of food. Because many people in Lotus Pier would come out for a late-night snack. There were also many boats, not inferior to your Caiyi Town.”

He then said, “There are so few now. Lan Zhan, you came too late. You didn’t catch the best and most lively times here.”

Lan Wangji said, “It’s not late.”

Wei Wuxian laughed, saying, “Back when I was studying at Cloud Recesses, I told you several times to come to Yunmeng to play, but you didn’t pay any attention to me. I should have been more forceful and dragged you over directly. Why are you eating so slowly? Is it not good?”

Lan Wangji said, “One doesn’t speak while eating.”

His eating had always been slow and careful. If he had to talk, then he had to ensure that there was absolutely nothing in his mouth. Wei Wuxian said, “Then I won’t talk to you, you can eat. I thought you didn’t like it, and even thought of asking you to give me the rest.”

Lan Wangji said to the stall owner, “Please give me another one.”

In the end, when Wei Wuxian had finished his third pancake, Lan Wangji was still slowly nibbling on his first one, while Wei Wuxian was already leading him further and further away from Lotus Pier, pointing here and there along the way to show him.

He especially wanted to show Lan Wangji all the places he had grown up in, played in, and acted unruly in, to tell him about the bad things he had done here, the fights he had, and the pheasants he had caught, and then observe the subtle changes in Lan Wangji’s expressions, anticipating every reaction he had.

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan! Look at me, look at this tree.”

Lan Wangji also finished his pancake, folding the oiled paper into a neat little square, holding it in his hand, and looking in the direction Wei Wuxian was pointing. It was just an ordinary tree, its trunk straight, its branches spreading out, it must have been several decades old. Wei Wuxian walked under the tree, circling it twice, patted the trunk, and said, “I climbed this tree.”

Lan Wangji said, “Every tree on the way here, you said you climbed.”

Wei Wuxian said, “This one is different! This was the first tree I climbed after I came to Lotus Pier, I climbed it in the middle of the night. My older sister came out with a lantern to find me, afraid I would fall, she was catching me from under the tree. But what could she catch with those thin arms of hers, so she broke her leg.”

Looking at his legs, Lan Wangji said, “Why climb a tree in the middle of the night.”

Wei Wuxian bent over, laughing, saying, “No reason. You know, I just like to come out and mess around in the middle of the night. Haha.”