Chapter 40 Blood Sacrifice

"Chu Wuding, what does this mean? What does it mean to be a person?"

Ji Gongyun lifted her head from Mi Fan's corpse, her teeth grinding together. She was unusually calm, and the grief in her scarlet eyes was barely visible.

Lin Chengye was in a state of unease. He deliberately avoided Ji Gongyun's sharp gaze and used his wide sleeve to cover the turmoil surging in his eyes.

one person?

The combined forces of Southern Qi and Northern Yan numbered nearly 200,000. Even after fighting Wei Lai's army, they still had 70,000 to 80,000 survivors, not to mention the people of Litao Prefecture. Lin Chengye felt that something was about to emerge, but the most important link was missing, and she couldn't figure it out.

Even if one person could do it, why would that person do it, why kill so many people? Just for the thrill of killing, or... is there another reason?

The destruction of the Lin family... Beneath his wide sleeves, Lin Chengye suddenly stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his pupils trembling.

Was it just that person's scheme to kill two birds with one stone? If, if she was wrong from the very beginning…

Neither the emperor's suspicion nor the princess's power grab was the real reason. It was that person... but what exactly did that person want? Lin Chengye was almost going crazy. She couldn't understand it. Her fingertips dug into her palms, drawing sticky blood.

"This humble Taoist does not know."

Chu Wuding looked into Ji Gongyun's eyes and said calmly. Anyone with eyes could see that he was pretending to understand when he was confused, but he had no intention of explaining at all.

"Don't know?"

Ji Gongyun suddenly picked up a porcelain bottle from the bedside table, twirled it lightly between her fingers, and sneered.

"Don't you understand why I dislike Bian Yi? I hate people with many secrets! I thought there was no distance between us!"

Her words had turned into a hysterical scream, Ji Gongyun's voice hoarse yet filled with despair. Looking at Chu Wuding's tightly pursed lips and his ever-present pitying gaze, she felt an overwhelming hatred for the first time.

Because she was born with congenital deficiencies and her biological father was not favored by the late emperor and lived in a Taoist temple for many years, she was fostered at the Qingluan Xianzhi Temple in Southern Qi. Seeing her pitiful state, Chu Wuding took the initiative to become half a teacher to Ji Gongyun.

Perhaps it was this lack of formal education that made Ji Gongyun's innate intelligence a constraint. She could not accept living a life like her biological father, nor could she realize her ambitions.

She is a tiger trapped in a cage, wanting to tear open a bloody path.

So she thought of someone, and Ji Gongyun returned to Qingluan Xianzhi Temple to find Chu Wuding, hoping that he could help her.

Chu Wuding could see that Ji Gongyun was facing difficulties as a prince of Southern Qi, but he didn't want to get into trouble, so he casually asked her a question.

"Your Highness, what exactly do you want to do?" Chu Wuding's tone was very perfunctory; he hadn't held out much hope.

"To quell internal strife and save the people."

Ji Gongyun answered without any hesitation.

When Chu Wuding looked at Ji Gongyun again, his eyes were filled with complicated emotions, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Because, coincidentally, that's exactly what he wanted.

"...Your Majesty, please calm your anger. There is only one matter that I cannot tell you the truth about. As for everything else, I have not concealed anything from Your Majesty."

Chu Wuding sighed. He had followed Ji Gongyun for many years, so how could he not know that this would anger her? But this was the only thing he couldn't say, and dared not say.

Bian Yi seemed detached from the chaos, staring blankly at her palm. She grasped something, then put it down, but her fingertips were trembling. Lin Chengye saw everything, but said nothing.

"You knew it too, didn't you!"

Suddenly, she tilted her head, and the porcelain cup in Ji Gongyun's hand grazed her cheek before smashing against the wall. The broken pieces scattered and slid down her robes. Bian Yi's empty eyes slowly focused, but she only stared silently at the young king with the same irritatingly complex expression.

"That's what I hate about you. How many times have I asked you to stay, how many times have I said I could help you? You always look like you can't say it. What is it that I can't do?"

"I'm sorry..." Bian Yi opened her mouth and whispered.

"His Majesty!"

Seeing that Ji Gongyun was getting even angrier, Lin Chengye frowned and, quite disrespectfully, grabbed her forearm.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. This matter is strange. I believe that Daoist Chu and Bian Yi did not intentionally deceive you."

"You don't know either, right?"

Ji Gongyun turned to look at her, and suddenly smiled with relief, but it looked somewhat sarcastic.

"I'm a commoner who hasn't been in the martial world for long, so naturally I don't know."

Lin Chengye smiled helplessly. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it. The two of them had lived longer than the two of them combined, so how could they easily open up to each other? As long as they treated each other sincerely, that was enough.

"Since we have fulfilled our promise to His Majesty, we will not linger any longer and will take our leave now."

Lin Chengye winked at Bian Yi, bowed to Ji Gongyun, and turned to walk towards the door. She brushed past Chu Wuding, their eyes meeting briefly before quickly looking away.

"Um."

Bian Yi nodded, ignoring Ji Gongyun's reply, and followed Lin Chengye out.

...

In the dead of night, crows cawed. The dark clouds hung low tonight, threatening rain again.

In a remote inn outside the palace, a woman in black carrying an oil-paper umbrella spoke with the waiter and slipped a silver ingot into his hand. The waiter quickly led her into the back courtyard and locked the door behind her.

In the backyard, a man was already standing under the moonlight, dressed in blue with a long staff, a wine gourd at his waist, his Taoist robe fluttering in the wind, revealing the sharpness in his eyes.

It was Chu Wuding.

"Master Chu arrived right on time."

Lin Chengye leaned his oil-paper umbrella against the stone table in the courtyard, sat down, and poured a cup of wine for each of them. Chu Wuding tilted his head back and drank it down, then expressionlessly tossed a piece of paper about the length of his index finger onto the table. Lin Chengye didn't even frown; he chuckled and twirled the paper around his fingertip.

This was given to him by Chu Wuding as she left the palace; it contained only a few words.

"The inn outside the city, Qingluan Medicine Valley, is located in the dead of night."

"Then let's talk, Master Chu. What exactly did General Mi Fan mean by that sentence he left behind?"

Lin Chengye stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

Why do you think I would tell you?

Chu Wuding sneered.

"I don't know, I'm gambling too."

Lin Chengye shrugged and smiled slightly. Her knowledge was very limited, so she had to make thorough preparations before entering the palace.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Bian Yi; it's just that he was relatively mild-mannered and unclear about many things. Chu Wuding, however, was different. He was closer to all of this and might gain more useful insights.

Mi Fan was the mastermind behind the Lin family's downfall before her death, and the Lin family's destruction was intricately linked to that of the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley. The destruction of the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley was a tragedy for the entire martial arts world. She had long noticed the striking similarity between the names of the Azure Phoenix Holding Ganoderma Temple and the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley, wondering if there might be a further connection between the two.

So she was also betting that twenty years later, Chu Wuding had never given up on finding the truth about what happened back then, which was how she managed to lure him in.

“But since you’ve come here, it means… you’ve been investigating the destruction of the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley, and you haven’t given up.”

"How many people know that we met?" Chu Wuding didn't answer, but asked instead.

"Only you and me."

After returning home, Bian Yi was in a daze, constantly drinking alcohol before going to bed early. Lin Chengye had already prepared an excuse, but didn't need it. He left after Bian Yi fell asleep.

"Is General Mi truly beyond saving? Or... do you not want Bian Yi to save him?"

Chu Wuding suddenly realized something and frowned. He had to admit that when he looked at this teenager, the boy named A Ye was well hidden under Bian Yi's sharp edge.

"Why?"

Lin Chengye smiled without saying a word, only shaking his head.

"...Although the Qingluan Xianzhi Temple has been despised because of my close relationship with His Majesty, and has now declined in the martial arts world, I... am still a person of the martial arts world."

Chu Wuding murmured. For the first time, something slow and deep appeared in his shrewd, calculating old eyes. He knew that time was passing, and even though he had gradually been excluded from the identity of a Jianghu person, the two words "chivalry" were etched into his bones, and he still could not let go of them.

The Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley, though secluded in a remote area, was renowned for its healing abilities, remaining low-key yet known to all. The entire martial arts world benefited from its protection and kindness. In the past, regardless of sect or faction, whether righteous or wicked, no one dared to cause trouble on the territory of the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley. Even those with a shred of kindness would not lay a hand on a medical sect.

But then, overnight, Qingluan Medicine Valley was silently and brutally wiped out, delivering a slap in the face to all the martial arts sects.

"The destruction of Qingluan Medicine Valley has always been a thorn in the side of us old folks."

He changed the subject abruptly, tapping his knuckles on the stone table.

“Tell me, who exactly wants to investigate this? Most of the people who are still obsessed with this matter are already quite old. I don’t believe a kid like you would still have such an obsession.”

My surname is Lin.

Lin Chengye suddenly spoke up.

"You...yes, yes, you look so much like me..."

Chu Wuding's pupils contracted sharply, and he muttered to himself, instantly realizing the truth. He had his doubts about the Qingluan Medicine Valley incident, but as a half-immortal of Southern Qi, he couldn't easily take action against a man from Lai.

How similar it is now to the past, again the Lai Kingdom, again the extermination of a family, and again... it's related to the Lai Kingdom's court.

"Will you uncover the truth behind the destruction of the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley?"

Chu Wuding looked into Lin Chengye's eyes, speaking each word carefully. If Lin Chengye were merely an outsider, he might hesitate, but the child's identity forced her to become deeply involved. This wasn't just about chivalry; it also involved the wronged souls of the Lin family who awaited her apology.

"A fight to the death."

Lin Chengye did not hesitate at all.

"good."

Chu Wuding nodded, his expression quite complex, as if he were unlocking some long-forgotten memories. Lin Chengye didn't urge him, patiently waiting for him to speak.

"Before we talk today, I need you to promise me two things: first, you must not reveal what we are talking about today; second, even if you have the opportunity, you must not become a fortune teller."

"If you dare violate any of these rules, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and kill you."

The first point makes sense, but what does the second point mean? Lin Chengye pondered for a moment, then nodded. Not to mention that her body is almost impossible to recover, she herself isn't very enthusiastic about martial arts.

Do you know what a fortune teller is?

Chu Wuding suddenly asked, his desolate eyes filled with complex emotions. He didn't seem to think the title of "half-immortal" was particularly powerful, nor did he take pride in it.

"Tell me everything you know."

"...Those who break through to the tenth level of internal energy are considered half-immortals."

Lin Chengye paused for a moment, then continued.

"That's all I know."

"Only three of us in the world have broken through the tenth level. Besides our extraordinary talent, there is another extremely important condition..."

Chu Wuding looked at Lin Chengye with a half-smile, picked up the wine pot on the table, took a sip, and stared at the crescent moon on the horizon that resembled a beautiful woman's smiling eyes. His eyes gradually stung, and he said slowly.

"A blood sacrifice."

Lin Chengye felt a chill run down her spine. She knew that the last link in the chain of events she couldn't understand during the day had quietly come together, and the truth was incredibly cruel.

Author's note: Give myself a thumbs up. I had a great time writing this; this is the most crucial part, and the story is probably halfway through.