Chapter 195
After the tomb raiding and sword-hunting before the New Year, the Star Gazing Platform had been dug up into a mess. But soon after, the disciples responsible for repairing and maintaining the cenotaph had renovated it and made it even more beautiful than before, a complete transformation.
The observatory is devoid of flowers; only evergreen spruce trees stand around it, forming a natural barrier that encloses the area. Whenever I come here to pay my respects, the lush greenery and vibrant spruce trees lessen the somber atmosphere of the graves.
Man Jiangxue walked ahead, the hem of her skirt brushing against the weeds on the side of the mountain path, picking up some dew. She played with the frost in her hand the whole way, her face, with her back to Xie Yijun, was calm and expressionless, revealing no emotion.
The two stood quietly in front of their master's tombstone for a long time.
"Have someone bring incense, candles, and joss paper; the proper etiquette cannot be omitted," Man Jiangxue said.
Xie Yijun looked around but didn't see any attendants or disciples.
Logically, as the sect leader, whenever she comes to offer sacrifices, her disciples should be busy taking care of everything. But today is strange; not only is there not a single person in sight, but no one has come out to greet or assist her in the office she passed on her way here, as if no one is there at all.
“This place is too easy; if we stay here too long, we’ll probably desert our posts and hide away to slack off,” Xie Yijun said. “Wait a minute, I’ll go and take a look myself.”
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement, and Xie Yijun turned and headed towards the office. Pushing open the door, she found it empty and unattended. After circling the room twice, Xie Yijun finally found a male disciple fast asleep in the inner room, seemingly in a deep sleep.
Xie Yijun initially wanted to reprimand him, but seeing a medicine bowl beside the male disciple, she figured he might be ill, so she remained silent. The male disciple, however, seemed to hear the noise and suddenly woke up, hurriedly standing up and saying, "Greetings, Sect Leader! Please forgive me, Sect Leader. I caught a cold and was feeling really unwell, so I dozed off. I hope you will understand..."
"Where did everyone go?" Xie Yijun asked.
"My senior brothers have gone to Tianyin Peak," the male disciple said respectfully. "The Sword Forging Pavilion is short-handed. We usually don't have much to do here, so we are often called over by the senior sister in charge of Tianyin Peak to help out. I stayed behind because of a cold. If the sect leader needs anything, just tell me to come."
"No need to be alarmed," Xie Yijun said gently. "Just bring some incense, candles, and joss paper."
The disciple nodded in agreement and immediately went to the shelf to do as instructed. Xie Yijun sat down at the desk and casually flipped through the notebook on top. Seeing this, the male disciple opened a drawer and found an account book for her, saying, "It's just in time for the sect leader to come in person. There's something I need to report to you. The funds for the renovation of the observatory haven't been approved yet. Please take a look, sect leader."
Xie Yijun glanced at it and said, "The palace has allocated reserve funds to various places, and you should have received them as well."
“That’s how it is,” the male disciple replied. “We’ve almost used up all the reserve funds. This time, the repairs just happened to coincide with Senior Sister Ye’s accident, so no one here could help. The brothers and sisters had to use their own monthly salaries to make up for it. Now that Senior Sister Ye is gone, Senior Sister Ji has just taken office, and Senior Sister Bai Ling is even more of a concern. She’s been too busy lately to care about us. I shouldn’t be telling the sect leader about such trivial matters, but we’re penniless, and it’s almost the beginning of the month. Our families are waiting for us to send money back to prepare for spring planting.”
Xie Yijun understood and said, "Alright, I'll have someone come and calculate the accounts. You won't be shortchanged by a single penny, so don't worry."
The male disciple smiled broadly. Seeing Xie Yijun's gentle tone, he chatted with her, saying, "The sect leader is so busy with official duties, yet he still often remembers to come and pay respects to our ancestors. You've come quite a few times in the past few months, haven't you? Last winter, you even specially ordered us to repair the cenotaph several times. Our ancestors in heaven would be pleased to see this and would surely protect Yunhua even more."
“It’s not as exaggerated as you say. I’ve only come to pay my respects twice since last winter,” Xie Yijun thought the younger man was quite eloquent, so she chatted with him for a while longer. “Besides, the repair of the cenotaph was arranged by Zhilan. I’m busy with other things all day long and haven’t had time to take care of this place. I feel somewhat unworthy of your words.”
The male disciple laughed and said, "Why should I feel unworthy? I still remember that last winter, the senior brothers of the secret guards from Jingyue Peak also came here to renovate the cenotaph. At that time, my uncle came down the mountain. I suppose it was you, the sect leader, who gave the order. Actually, there was no need for that. Since we are here to take care of the observatory, we should do the work ourselves. The sect leader can just order us around from now on. We should do our job well after receiving our monthly salary. We would feel bad if other disciples did it for us."
Xie Yijun frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Did the secret guards of Jingyue Peak come here to renovate the cenotaph? When exactly did that happen?"
The male disciple asked in surprise, "Sect Leader, you don't know?" He then counted on his fingers, "It was around the time when Yao Dingcheng's group of refugees had their accident. At that time, Martial Uncle and Senior Sister Yin received invitations from Hall Master Meng and were rushing to Weicheng to attend the conference."
Xie Yijun leaned back slightly, resting on the chair, and pondered, "Back then, the refugee incident was all over the place. I was so worried about Yunhua Palace's rapidly declining reputation in the martial arts world that I couldn't sleep. How could I have the mind to have someone build an observatory?" She looked at the male disciple and asked, "Did you see it with your own eyes? Did those secret guards say who they were on orders from?"
The male disciple seemed surprised that Xie Yijun was unaware of the matter, and said with a hint of doubt, "A senior brother saw it when he got up to use the outhouse in the middle of the night, but he only happened to see them leaving with shovels and didn't think much of it. The next day, after hearing about it, we went to check on the cenotaph and found that the snow there had been cleared clean, as if it had been specially renovated. Although we don't know why the guards went to renovate it in the middle of the night, we disciples thought they meant well and did the work we were supposed to do. At that time, our master wasn't there, so the only one who could mobilize the guards was the sect leader, right? How come you seem to know nothing about it...?"
Upon hearing his words, Xie Yijun's expression changed slightly. She threw down the account book in her hand, hurriedly returned the way she came, and rushed to Man Jiangxue, asking, "Did you know that the secret guards came here last night to renovate the cenotaph?"
Man Jiangxue scrutinized her for a moment, then frowned and asked, "A disciple of the secret guards?"
“I just heard from the disciples in the office that they came during the time you and Yin Qiu went to Weicheng,” Xie Yijun said with annoyance. “No one reported this to their superiors, and I didn’t hear any news about it. Now that I think about it, they must have moved the Holy Sword away back then!”
Man Jiangxue paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I haven't heard of this."
Xie Yijun flicked her sleeve, pacing back and forth, suppressing her anger, and said, "Even if we had heard about it back then, we wouldn't have been able to find out anything. We only found out later that the Holy Sword was in the palace. They moved the Holy Sword to another location beforehand to prevent us from finding out in the future. After Zhilan died, I even wondered if she had lied and that the Holy Sword wasn't actually at the Observatory. Now we know that what she said was true, but we've already missed our chance... What a brilliant plan! They've made us run around in circles!"
Man Jiangxue gestured for her to calm down and said, "It's nothing. The two holy swords have already been moved. This only proves our previous guesses and does nothing to help find that person."
Xie Yijun's gaze shifted to Man Jiangxue, and she asked, "Do you know what else that disciple said just now?"
Manjiangxue's eyes revealed a questioning look.
“Since you’re not in the palace, I’m the only one who can mobilize the secret guards. Everyone would think that way,” Xie Yijun sneered. “Very well. Huaiwei and Zhilan have both been scapegoats indirectly before. This time, that person is coming directly at me.”
Man Jiangxue lowered her head, looking at Ning Shuang in her hand, her fingertips gently stroking the sharp, thin blade. Man Jiangxue said, “On the surface, that seems so, but upon closer inspection, the ability to mobilize the secret guards has nothing to do with anyone's status. It's not just you and me who can command them. Even if that person is unknown in the palace, even if he's just someone responsible for sweeping and boiling water, since he can form a secret guard, he can issue orders to make them obey.”
Xie Yijun said, "It's good that you have a clear mind and can analyze things this way. It's not that I'm afraid of getting involved, but I am the sect leader after all. If the disciples find out about this, they will be in a state of panic."
Man Jiangxue said, "Then we have to find a way to suppress this matter, or investigate it thoroughly to see if we can find out who that person is."
"The problem is that all the secret guards are dead, so who should we ask for answers?" Xie Yijun said, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "Wait, there's still one locked up in the punishment hall! Come on, come with me to find that disciple and ask him for clarification."
Man Jiangxue said, "No rush, we're already here, let's finish the worship first."
The disciple who had followed Xie Yijun out of the office stood at a distance, holding the items, and did not dare to approach rashly. Man Jiangxue waved to him and instructed him to bring the items over. The three of them lit incense and burned some paper money. Xie Yijun and Man Jiangxue then went to the punishment hall. However, when they arrived, they found the prison cell clean and tidy, and the secret guard disciple was nowhere to be seen.
Only after asking did the two learn that Yin Qiu and Meng Jing had come here early in the morning and killed the person.
Upon hearing this, Xie Yijun immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Nonsense! The reason we've kept him alive until now without punishing him is because we thought he might still be useful. What are you all doing!"
Several disciples from the Punishment Hall hurriedly knelt down, trembling as they said, "Reporting to the Sect Leader, we all know that Senior Brother Meng has a grudge against him. Senior Brother Meng has been coming here to torture him severely these past few days, and we've become accustomed to it. We thought he was just doing the same thing today, so we didn't watch. We never expected him to kill someone so suddenly... Afterwards, Senior Sister Yin instructed us to bury the body, and we naturally did as she said. Please, Sect Leader, calm your anger!"
Xie Yijun was furious, pinching her brow as she said, "You're all useless and more trouble than you're worth! Of course, the hatred of killing your relatives must be avenged, but we've already endured it to this point, what harm is there in enduring it for a couple more days? I haven't even given the word yet, and Meng Jing has already taken lives on his own initiative, he simply doesn't take the palace rules seriously! You've been in the punishment hall for so long, don't you know how important the people imprisoned here are? Those damned ones should have been on the executioner's block long ago, they're still useful if they're kept alive! You're all neglecting your duties, treating palace rules like a joke, there's really no one who can control you!"
The disciples were in a panic and, unable to offer any further explanation, could only kowtow and admit their mistake. Seeing this, Man Jiangxue could only explain, "Senior Sister, please don't blame me. I was the one who asked Meng Jing to do it."
Xie Yijun replied without hesitation, "The facts are right in front of us. Stop trying to cover for him. Don't I know you? Whenever these juniors make a mistake, you're always the one to take the blame and plead for them!"
“I am not protecting anyone,” Man Jiangxue said. “It was indeed me who told Meng Jing that this person no longer needed to be kept and that she could decide what to do with him herself.”
Xie Yijun said, "That's quite a coincidence. You gave the signal, and he came and killed someone right afterward. Just then, the matter of the Dark Guard disciples transferring the Holy Sword came to light. Now, the only remaining breakthrough is gone, and that person can still go unpunished!"
Man Jiangxue waved her hand, dismissing the disciples from the Punishment Hall, and comforted them, "Calm down first. There's always a way out. As the saying goes, 'If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place.' Getting away with it is only temporary. Besides, Meng Wugui and Nangong Min know who that person is. He will be exposed sooner or later. Senior Sister, there's no need to be angry."
Even if Xie Yijun was angry, it was useless at this moment. The person was already dead; she couldn't very well call Meng Jing here and give him a good scolding, nor could she bring him back to life.
Man Jiangxue comforted her for a while, and Xie Yijun waved her hand and said, "That's enough, that's enough. Things have come to this. We can only wait and see how Meng Wugui will retaliate. What you said makes sense. Let's just wait and see."
The two left the punishment hall, each lost in their own thoughts, and returned to the Mingguang Hall. Bai Ling brought back the memorials from the Lanfeng Pavilion, and Man Jiangxue sat in the hall for a while, chatting with Xie Yijun before taking her leave. She first returned to Jingyue Peak, and then secretly went to the Star Gazing Platform again. The male disciple who had been waiting in the office quickly closed the door when he saw Man Jiangxue appear.
Man Jiangxue said, "Tell me the process."
The male disciple responded and immediately recounted his conversation with Xie Yijun to Man Jiangxue. He concluded, "The sect leader probably didn't realize I was lying. In short, I told her exactly what my master instructed. From what I observed, the sect leader's reaction didn't seem fake. She probably really doesn't know about the secret guard disciples."
In reality, no one got up to use the outhouse in the middle of the night, and no one saw the secret guards renovating the observatory. Everything was explained by Man Jiangxue when she arrived at Mingguang Hall in the morning and asked Bai Ling to wait for her.
That day in the Hall of Punishment, the hidden guard claimed that it was Xie Yijun who gave the order, which is why their senior brother instructed them to go to the Observatory at midnight to repair the cenotaph. Furthermore, when Man Jiangxue set off for Yun Jian City to meet Yin Qiu, she had visited the Observatory to pay respects to her master, and she had indeed personally heard the accompanying hidden guard say this. With these events combined, suspicion fell on Xie Yijun. After much deliberation, Man Jiangxue decided that this was the only way to test her.
But just as she and Xie Yijun had analyzed before, being able to mobilize the secret guards was not something that only she and Xie Yijun could do, and based on this alone, it cannot be concluded that Xie Yijun was the mastermind.
It should be noted that among the Dark Guard disciples, only the eldest brother and the sixth brother knew who the mastermind was. Since that person had already plotted against Ye Zhilan, he knew to use her name in everything he did. Even the rest of the people believed that they were working for Ye Zhilan. They didn't know until their deaths that Ye Zhilan was not actually their master. So why didn't he continue to use Ye Zhilan's name for such a big thing as transferring the Holy Sword?
Furthermore, once the matter of removing the Holy Sword is discovered, anyone who hears it will immediately think of Xie Yijun, but with a little thought, they can arrive at the above conclusion.
So, was this low-level framing a deliberate attempt by that person to make Xie Yijun the next scapegoat after Ye Zhilan, in order to confuse the public and arouse suspicion within Yunhua Palace, or was it a deliberate and risky scheme orchestrated by Xie Yijun herself?
It is currently impossible to determine whether it is Man Jiangxue.
There must be a motive for murder. Xie Yijun had no grudge against Shen Mandong, so she must have a reason to kill her. But Man Jiangxue couldn't think of any reason why Xie Yijun would kill Shen Mandong.
Furthermore, during the years when the five disciples spent time together in the palace, Xie Yijun was not competitive or greedy. Apart from her disagreement with Wen Chaoyu, which always led to arguments, she had no grudges against Shen Mandong and had little contact with the Shen family or even the Ruyi Sect.
If it were about the position of sect leader, although the palace tradition has always been to appoint the chief disciple as sect leader, Xie Yijun had never shown any interest in becoming sect leader. After the Ruyi Sect incident, her master fell seriously ill and had no cure. She initially wanted to pass the position of sect leader to Man Jiangxue, but after Man Jiangxue expressed her lack of interest, her master thought of Wen Chaoyu. At that time, they did not know that Wen Chaoyu had returned to the Ziwei Sect and thought that she had disappeared without a trace. It was only after hearing the truth that her master chose Xie Yijun.
During this process, Xie Yijun not only did not volunteer herself, but also initially refused when she heard that her master had chosen her, delaying her acceptance. If it weren't for her master's repeated persuasion, which led to his passing soon after, and the encouragement of the elders, Xie Yijun might not have been able to take over as sect leader. Although she was forced into the role, Xie Yijun has been quite dedicated over the years, which has been evident to everyone in the palace. While her martial arts skills may not be the strongest, she possesses leadership qualities. From her ascension to the present, both palace disciples and martial arts heroes outside the palace have praised her highly.
Would someone like that kill Shen Mandong just to become the sect leader?
Man Jiangxue had no idea that she didn't know Xie Yijun. In fact, she didn't even know Shen Mandong and Wen Chaoyu very well. To this day, the only person she could say she knew without hesitation was Yin Qiu.
Her thoughts raced, various images flashing before her eyes. Man Jiangxue remained silent, silently considering all the possibilities. After a long while, she finally spoke: "What happened today must not be leaked. If anyone tries to find out what's going on with you, be sure to let me know."
The disciple hesitated, then said carefully, "To be honest, this is really not a big deal. May I ask why you are so concerned, Uncle-Master? Even if the Sect Leader sent the Secret Guard brothers here to repair the Star Gazing Platform, it shouldn't be a big deal..."
"Don't ask me anything more, I have my reasons," Man Jiangxue said. "You just need to do as I say, understand?"
The disciple obediently agreed.
Man Jiangxue then gave a few more instructions before disappearing back to Jingyue Peak. She entered Chenxing Palace, gazing at the fiery red maples outside the door, and leaned back in her wicker chair into deep thought.
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