78 Chapter 78 Rejuvenation
Chapter 78 Rejuvenation
"So, you're the only one left in the Worry-Free Sect?" Wang Sumo asked, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at Liu Zhaoting.
Liu Zhaoting nodded: "That's right, but I was able to survive because they believed that the Wuyou Sect had been wiped out. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be alive today."
He took the old man's armband, his brow furrowed.
Originally, I came here to resolve the matter of Su Jin, but what I heard instead was the story of how Wuyou Sect disappeared from the martial arts world.
Many sects in the martial arts world have been wiped out because their unique skills were coveted by others.
The Worry-Free Sect is extremely skilled at disguise.
The disguise of Zhu Weng that Liu Zhaoting had previously used was so convincing that it was impossible to tell the real from the fake.
However, without profound martial arts as a backing, such a skill is like fish on a chopping board.
At best, it will be stolen or taken away; at worst, the entire sect will be wiped out.
Even more remarkably, the disappearance of this sect was completely unnoticed in the martial arts world. It wasn't until much later that people remembered that there had been no news of the Worry-Free Sect for a long time.
"Then, do you know who did it?" Although Wang Sumo enjoyed watching the spectacle, she still felt uneasy upon hearing about such a tragedy.
Even though Liu Henshui had mentioned the Northern Snow Blade, when Liu Henshui went to the Northwest to find him and told him about the tragedy that had befallen his family, Liu Henshui, no matter how much he resented the Northern Snow Blade, buried the dead with him.
Now it's Wuyoumen again...
Liu Zhaoting shook his head: "I managed to escape that calamity because I was out and about and didn't have time to return. But that day was Master's birthday, and all the disciples were present. Because Master prefers quiet and doesn't like crowds, he didn't invite any guests. So, when I returned to the sect in high spirits, I found only corpses floating everywhere..."
"I was devastated. I wanted to avenge my sect and bury all my fellow disciples with my own hands, but as I stood up, my master suddenly grabbed my hand!"
Wang Sumo was listening intently when she suddenly heard this scene, and she was so frightened that she held her breath!
The old man also looked at Liu Zhaoting with surprise.
Indeed, such a sight is quite rare...
But the old man didn't know how to interrupt.
Wang Sumo felt a chill run down her spine, but Liu Zhaoting was still immersed in the memory, and began to choke up: "My master's hand gripped mine tightly, softly calling my name. In my overwhelming grief, I suddenly felt a surge of joy, so I knelt before him, picked him up, and tried to take him to find a doctor. But my master held me tightly, repeatedly saying, 'Go, go quickly...'"
Liu Zhaoting's words were so immersive that Wang Sumo could feel the despair on the other side through his words.
The old man also said, "He was afraid that if you continued to collect corpses for others, the murderer would find out. He wanted to protect you, so of course he hoped you would leave; it was his only remaining hope."
Liu Zhaoting still vividly remembers what happened that day.
“I wanted to save Master, but he kept telling me to leave. These words exhausted his last bit of life. The half-sentence he didn’t finish was—to live in anonymity, and not to say you’re from the Wuyou Sect. Go…” Liu Zhaoting finished speaking and took another deep breath.
“Father…” Liu Che said worriedly.
However, there is never any true empathy for this kind of thing.
All I can do is empathize...
The old man's gaze gradually softened: "So, you came to Liu Village and settled down there incognito?"
Liu Zhaoting nodded.
The old man continued, "Since your master told you to hide your identity, and this Liu family isn't your trust, how could it be such a coincidence that this place is Liu Village, and you happen to be surnamed Liu, so you just happen to stay?"
Liu Zhaoting sighed softly: "What the elder said is right. I did indeed arrive at Liu Village, and when others asked, I just made up the name Liu to make them feel closer to me..."
"Dad, then we won't have the surname Liu?" This overturned Liu Che's understanding of the past ten years!
Liu Zhaoting shook his head: "I am an orphan that my master found, so I took my master's surname."
The old man asked in a deep voice, "Is the sect leader of the Worry-Free Sect surnamed Ji?"
Liu Zhaoting nodded: "Yes, this is my master's surname. I am his last disciple, and the last disciple he took in when he was traveling around in his later years. My master said I have talent. But most people in the sect have never seen me. On my master's birthday that time, he wanted to formally introduce me to the sect."
Wang Sumo, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "I've been telling you that Elder Ji told you to leave, and that you must hide your identity, because he knew very well that if you didn't leave, or even if you left, you would still be in danger if you didn't hide your identity. That means the person who ordered the Wuyou Sect to be wiped out knows who you are, and your master also knows that if he finds you, he will definitely eliminate you completely."
Liu Che and Grandpa Qu were both stunned.
Wang Sumo struggled to speak, but still managed to say, "Old Liu, the person who destroyed your Wuyou Sect is very likely one of your own, and moreover, someone familiar with your master, someone who knows you are your master's last disciple, and someone who will return that day..."
After Wang Sumo finished speaking, everyone in the carriage gasped.
Wang Sumo continued, "Although he doesn't know why you didn't come that day, he must have had something he needed to leave immediately. So even if he knew that keeping you around would be a problem, he couldn't stay in the sect forever. And you've been in Liu Village all these years, hiding your identity and not revealing anything. Moreover, because you're good at blacksmithing, your identity is also that of a blacksmith, completely unrelated to the Wuyou Sect, so the other party couldn't find you."
Not finding it doesn't mean there's no danger.
This person is like an invisible hand, ready to reach out and strangle you from behind at any moment when you let your guard down.
It sends chills down your spine.
The old man said in a deep voice, "Then you shouldn't have used the art of disguise and openly went to the Su Jin lineage. If this is discovered, you could very well be the next target."
Liu Zhaoting sighed softly: "Back then, because of Zhu Weng, I became involved with the Su Jin lineage. What I feared most at the time was not the Su Jin lineage, but the exposure of my identity. So I was eager to extricate myself from it, which is why I promised the Su Jin lineage that I would never touch weapons or tomb-raiding tools again, all because I was afraid of being implicated in the things behind the scenes."
"Compared to the Sujin Sect, I am more worried about this place."
“Since the incident at my sect, I have been hiding my identity here, but I have not stopped searching for information. I want to find the real culprit, avenge my master and more than a hundred people in the sect, so that they can leave this world in peace…” Liu Zhaoting said with a sorrowful tone.
Liu Che suddenly realized what was happening and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, Father. Zhu Yu and I didn't know anything about the Wuyou Sect. We acted first and reported later. We just wanted to get rid of the control and covetousness of the Sujin lineage. I didn't expect that what you were really worried about was something else."
Liu Che knew he had caused trouble...
"Whether it's a blessing or a curse, I can't escape it in the end. I've been hiding in Liu Village for many years and have figured out a lot of things. Now that things have come to this, it's actually a good thing. I've severed ties with the Su Jin lineage, and after hiding for so many years, I should finally face this matter with equanimity. I'll use the clues I've gathered over the years to find the person who killed my master and caused the Wuyou Sect to be wiped out."
"Father?" Liu Che exclaimed in surprise!
Liu Zhaoting said, "I used to think you were too young to take care of yourself. But after this incident, I've seen your composure and decisiveness. With you and A-Yu looking after each other, I can finally do what I want to do with peace of mind. Life is short, and we can't afford to have regrets. Even if we do have regrets, we should be on the path to making up for them."
Liu Che's eyes were bloodshot: "Father..."
Liu Zhaoting also bowed to Wang Sumo and Old Master Qu, saying, "I will remember the kindness of everyone at Bazhenlou. If I cannot repay it in this life, I will be your servant in the next."
The world of martial arts is full of passionate people who readily declare they'll be reborn as beasts of burden in their next life.
Wang Sumo had heard many stories, but this one truly felt like a knife to the heart.
"Have you found the people from back then?" Old Master Qu asked in a deep voice.
Rather than recklessly throwing his life away, while others were in the open and he was in the shadows, the old man preferred him to live.
Liu Zhaoting sighed softly: "There are some, but not many, and they are all elusive."
Wang Sumo looked at him: "Confusing and mysterious?"
These four characters have a story behind them...
Liu Zhaoting took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "He made a brief appearance in the martial arts world, but soon he disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished into thin air. There has been no news of him for more than ten years..."
Huh? This is unexpected by everyone.
Wang Sumo: "What...what's in it for him?"
Liu Zhaoting looked at Wang Sumo: "What Miss Wang said is true. It is also what I have been thinking about repeatedly for the past twenty years. It is his purpose in doing this. I thought about it for a long time, until one day, I suddenly realized that the disguise technique of the Wuyou Sect is unparalleled in the world. It can even be so realistic that it can be mistaken for the real thing. As long as the imitation is realistic enough, even the closest people to the other party may not be able to tell the difference. But if it is a disciple of the Wuyou Sect, they can see through the clues based on what they have learned in the sect."
"Oh~" Wang Sumo suddenly realized: "This person wants to change his identity, but doesn't want anyone to know. He even wants to kill everyone in the Wuyou Sect!"
Both the old man and Liu Che couldn't help but show disgust in their eyes.
But it must be said that Wang Sumo was right.
Liu Zhaoting nodded: "Miss Wang is right. Over the years, I have tried every means to collect a list of disciples of the Wuyou Sect. There was one person among them who was once the master's most prized disciple, but later he went astray and used some almost ferocious, terrifying and inconceivable methods to achieve the purpose of disguise. He was expelled from the sect by the master."
Ferocious, terrifying, and incomprehensible methods?
Although Liu Zhaoting didn't say it explicitly, Wang Sumo could roughly guess what it meant.
For example, the mask used for disguise, in Liu Zhaoting's case, might just be a pre-made mask resembling a human face, but that might be...
Wang Sumo suddenly felt her stomach churning...
Liu Zhaoting continued, "After he was expelled from the sect by his master, he did many heinous things. I was able to meet my master back then because he went down the mountain to clean up the sect, but he still managed to escape."
Liu Zhaoting frowned, paused for a long time, and then continued, "I later learned that he broke with his master because he had gone mad with demonic possession. He believed that there must be a method of disguise that could make people young again."
Rejuvenation?!
Wang Sumo found it unbelievable.
Indeed, what Liu Zhaoting just said was exactly what he meant by "inconceivable".
Recalling what Liu Zhaoting had just said—that he had suddenly vanished without a trace, disappearing into thin air—Wang Sumo swallowed hard and said dejectedly, "He... he didn't really become young again, did he..."
[Author's Note]
Good night~
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