Fallen At A Glance Chapter 3
byThe Sect’s Destruction
Chi Yan, having eaten his fill and feeling extremely comfortable, was in a good mood and invited Yun Zhao, “A’Zhao, when you have time, come visit the Cold Shadow Sect. Just mention my name—I’m Chi Yan—and I’ll take you to eat lots of delicious things there.”
“Wow, the Cold Shadow Sect! Chi Yan, you’re amazing. Cailian told me the Cold Shadow Sect is the number one sect in the world, and all cultivation sects treat them with the utmost respect.”
“It’s nothing, nothing,” Chi Yan said modestly, though his face was beaming. He hadn’t been down the mountain in years, and it had been a long time since he’d heard such praise.
“It’s getting late, we shouldn’t trouble you any further,” Lian Mu stood up.
“Alright,” Yun Zhao didn’t insist they stay. “If you have time, come back to the manor to play. I’ll ask the chef to make you more pastries,” Yun Zhao said, looking at Chi Yan.
Chi Yan nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes!”
“Let’s go,” Lian Mu looked at Chi Yan and stepped outside.
“I’m leaving, A’Zhao. See you next time.”
“Mhm, see you next time.”
After seeing off Lian Mu and Chi Yan, Yun Zhao looked at Cailian. “Cailian, I have to leave soon too.”
“Young Master A’Zhao only stayed for two days this time. Next time, you can stay longer.”
“I came back with my elder brother this time. When he has time, I’ll come back to stay again. If I don’t go back, Mother will definitely miss me.”
“That’s true. The Patriarch dotes on Young Master A’Zhao the most. He probably misses you terribly after just two days.”
Yun Zhao smiled.
“I’ll go pack Young Master A’Zhao’s things and ask the steward to prepare a carriage.”
“No need,” Yun Zhao stopped Cailian. “I’ll go back to my room to rest for a bit. Brother will come to my room to pick me up, and we’ll leave directly. We don’t need a carriage.”
“That works too,” Cailian nodded. “The Eldest Young Master is highly skilled in martial arts. Having him by your side is the most reassuring.”
“Mhm, I’m going back to my room now. Cailian, you should go rest too. You don’t need to wait outside my door.”
“Yes, Young Master A’Zhao.”
…
“Are you saying the black-clothed young man you saved outside the city is A’Zhao’s elder brother, Yun Suiyi!” Chi Yan’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “A’Zhao has such a pure personality, yet he has a brother like that.”
“Perhaps it is precisely because his brother has that kind of temperament that the Yun Manor has a Second Young Master with Yun Zhao’s temperament.”
“Eh, that makes sense,” Chi Yan agreed readily. “But why is only Yun Zhao here? I didn’t see any other elders?”
Lian Mu didn’t reply.
“Lian Mu, aren’t you curious?”
Lian Mu shook his head. “The matter in Pingyang City is finished. Let’s return to Falling Maple Valley.”
“Alright,” as Chi Yan finished speaking, he instantly reverted to his true form, standing beside Lian Mu. Once Lian Mu was settled on his back, Chi Yan let out a cry and flew toward Falling Maple Valley with him.
Yunshui Yun Manor
With a loud crack, Yun Suiyi was slammed heavily onto the ground, his body hitting a table like a broken puppet. The whip strike was swift as thunder, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, lashing fiercely across his back. His clothes ripped instantly, skin and flesh splitting open. A deep, bone-visible bloody gash ran across his spine. Blood gushed out like a spring, quickly soaking his clothes and trickling down his spine, dripping onto the dry floor, blooming into dark red flowers.
Yun Suiyi gritted his teeth and let out a muffled groan, a trace of metallic blood rising in his throat.
Before he could speak, another whip cracked down. The whip seemed to possess immense power, not only tearing flesh but also shattering tendons and bones. “You knew exactly how the people of Pingyang spoke ill of us back then, causing Father and Mother to pass away soon after, yet you still went to Pingyang!” Yun Xining roared furiously.
“I heard the plague was rampant in Pingyang. I went to see if the people who insulted and bullied you back then had all died. Why are you angry?” Yun Suiyi’s tone was flat.
“Hmph,” Yun Xining sneered. “The people who disrespected me back then were already killed by you, every last one of them.”
“Isn’t that convenient then?” Yun Suiyi said casually.
“Enough. Since you’re back, go see your younger brother.” Mentioning his favorite child, Yun Xining’s tone softened. “Your brother has been asleep for over a month and still hasn’t woken up.”
“What madness are you indulging in again? He died long ago.”
“You’re lying!” Yun Xining’s expression instantly twisted, and he lashed out with a whip. Yun Suiyi didn’t dodge, taking the blow squarely. “Have you forgotten? A month ago, he drank the medicine and died in his room.”
“It was you!” Yun Xining’s face was hideous. “You must have killed your brother, you heartless, blood-soaked beast!”
“Then do you dare kill me, this beast?” Yun Suiyi’s voice was chilling. “Without me, who do you expect to help you take revenge? Your innocent and pure A’Zhao?”
Mentioning revenge, Yun Xining’s emotions became agitated. “Yes, revenge! I want to kill every single one of those people from back then! I want to grind their corpses to dust!”
“Don’t worry, I will help you,” Yun Suiyi gently soothed Yun Xining. “Only three of those people from back then are left. I’ll go kill them in the next couple of days.”
“Go now! I want you to slaughter the Mintan Sect and the Lingqiu Sect right now!”
“Alright, I’ll go,” Yun Suiyi’s tone grew even softer. “I’ll go change my clothes and check on A’Zhao first, then I’ll set off.”
Mentioning Yun Zhao, Yun Xining’s emotions slowly stabilized. “Good. Go see A’Zhao.”
“Mhm.”
Yun Suiyi turned and left.
The burning pain on his back felt as if countless tiny venomous snakes were wriggling and gnawing at the wound. Every breath pulled at the injury, and the intense pain surged in waves. Having grown accustomed to it, Yun Suiyi’s expression remained unchanged. He walked out of the main hall as if nothing had happened.
Mintan Sect
“Sect Master! Sect Master!” a disciple ran into the hall in a panic.
“Why are you so flustered?” Tan Shan, the Sect Master of the Mintan Sect, reprimanded him.
“Someone wearing a mask has broken in! The disciples can barely hold him back!”
“What?” Tan Shan immediately stood up.
The night rain fell like needles, piercing the scarred stone steps of the mountain gate. The copper bells on the eaves of the Mintan Sect swayed hoarsely in the wind, sounding like wails. Blood flowed down the cracks in the bluestone, converging into a dark red stream, reflecting the broken “Promoting Goodness” plaque like a tearing wound.
Yun Suiyi stood amidst the corpses, clad in black robes. His clothes were already soaked through with blood, clinging damply to his body, yet he showed no sign of distress. His long hair hung down, a few strands sticking to his pale cheeks, and a red hair ribbon fluttered in the night wind. He held a blood-soaked sharp sword in his hand, and red drops of blood dripped onto the ground.
Yun Suiyi was expressionless—not cold, not angry, but possessing a stillness bordering on death. His eyes were placid, like a deep pool frozen over, reflecting neither firelight nor the sound of wailing.
In the darkness, he looked exactly like an Asura statue returned from the underworld, his breathing so light it was almost nonexistent.
In front of him were the remaining Mintan disciples, kneeling and trembling, their swords broken and Spiritual Power exhausted.
“Who are you? How dare you slaughter a famous orthodox sect! State your name!” Tan Shan’s figure appeared. “Does this behavior even make you human?”
Yun Suiyi slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the man as if passing over a corpse.
“Human?” Yun Suiyi finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse, like the first cracked note from a flute. “When you laid hands on a girl in the Azure Cloud Sect back then, did you ever ask yourselves if you were human?”
Before Tan Shan could speak, Yun Suiyi took a step forward, the tip of his sword lightly touching the ground. A mournful sword cry sliced through the rain curtain. Sharp swords surged out all around, but they were all blocked. The resentment released from the sword silently screamed, devouring the remaining spiritual light. There were no screams, because the sound was crushed before it could escape.
Yun Suiyi walked past the fallen bodies, neither looking, listening, nor speaking.
The warm blood rain fell on his eyelashes, like a tear, but did not drop.
He looked up toward the Mintan Sect, where flames soared into the sky. He knew that some things, once done, could never be undone.
But some debts must be paid in blood.
Yun Suiyi turned and walked into the rain curtain, his silhouette isolated and ghostly. Behind him was the silent mountain gate, the collapse of the illusion of the “Righteous Path,” and the so-called truth that would soon be twisted countless times.
And he, Yun Suiyi, would not repent, nor look back.
Expressionless, he walked toward a tribulation that seemed destined from the moment of his birth.
Overnight, the destruction of the Mintan Sect shocked the entire cultivation world and became a sensational topic among the common people.
“Although the Mintan Sect wasn’t a major sect, it still had over a hundred disciples, and Sect Master Tan Shan’s Spiritual Power was not low. Yet he died so horribly! I heard that the Sect Master’s flesh was sliced off piece by piece.”
“That’s too gruesome. I wonder who the Sect Master provoked to meet such a terrible end.”
“Maybe the Sect Master harmed someone in the past, and now they’ve come for revenge.”
“It’s hard to say.”
“If it’s revenge, that’s one thing, but what if some Evil Path cultivator has emerged among the Hundred Immortal Sects? Is the destruction of the Mintan Sect just the first?”
“What are you afraid of? We still have the number one immortal sect, the Cold Shadow Sect.”
“That’s right. The Cold Shadow Sect is the head of the Hundred Immortal Sects. I hear the Young Sect Master of the Cold Shadow Sect, though young, already has the highest Spiritual Power on the Yunze Continent.”
“That Young Sect Master’s future is limitless.”
“I heard that when the plague broke out in Pingyang City last month, it was this Young Sect Master who came down the mountain to resolve it. The people of Pingyang City still have his portrait hanging in their homes.”
“What does this Young Sect Master look like? I’ve never seen him.”
“I have! I have! My wife’s distant cousin’s third aunt’s youngest son works in Pingyang City, and they have the Young Sect Master’s portrait. He truly has a Regal Bearing and is Ethereal and Aloof. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a Deity.”
“If one could be so fortunate as to meet him, it would be a blessing for three lifetimes.”
“You wish! The Young Sect Master cultivates in the deep mountains year-round and only emerges for major crises.”
“How do you know?”
“Think about it. If the Young Sect Master came out to solve every little problem in the world, he’d be exhausted. The truly powerful only make a move when it’s most crucial.”
“Oh, that’s quite philosophical.”
“But how do you know the Young Sect Master cultivates in the deep mountains year-round?”
“My son is in the Cold Shadow Sect,” he said, though his son was just a minor outer disciple who swept the steps of the mountain gate.
“Amazing, amazing! Your ancestors must be smiling in their graves to have a son who can be a disciple in the Cold Shadow Sect.”
“That’s right. My son told me the Young Sect Master is constantly in Secluded Cultivation in his residence and rarely appears in the sect. When he does appear, he only meets with the Sect Master and the other elders.”
“If he didn’t cultivate every day, he wouldn’t be the number one person, would he?”
“Indeed.”
“But I wonder if the Cold Shadow Sect will send people to investigate the Mintan Sect incident.”
“Whether they investigate or not, the sect is already gone. Maybe if they investigate, they’ll uncover the disgusting things the Mintan Sect did.”
“Why do you have such malice toward the Mintan Sect?”
“Hmph, that Mintan Sect Master Tan Shan is worse than a beast. Back then, Tan Shan said my daughter had spiritual roots and was a good candidate for cultivation, so he took her away. Her mother and I were overjoyed. Who knew that less than two years later, my daughter secretly ran away? She said that Tan Shan was always harassing and even forcing the good-looking girls in the sect. Luckily, my daughter was smart enough to escape.”
“Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover.”