Chapter 91 Revenge
Changjin Mountain.
Chu Jianshan was about to leave after Ji Shi came down the mountain, but before he could even take a step across the threshold, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Where do you want to go?" The cold voice, carrying a familiar sense of oppression, sent chills down Chu Jianshan's spine.
He forced himself not to look at Jiang Yan's face, and instead bowed respectfully, saying, "Sect Leader."
"Raise your head." Jiang Yan's command left no room for argument.
Chu Jianshan hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised his face.
When Jiang Yan saw his face clearly, she wasn't astonished as she had expected. Instead, a cryptic smile appeared on her lips as she murmured, "He really looks like him."
"What?" Chu Jianshan's heart tightened.
“It’s nothing,” Jiang Yan said calmly, withdrawing her gaze. “Could you deliver something to me?”
"……yes."
Chu Jianshan followed as instructed, and the path beneath his feet became more and more familiar; it was clearly the direction leading to Fanghua Pavilion.
As he pushed open the door, he mentally considered countless possibilities, his fingertips clenching inwardly, determined to protect Ah Sheng if anything unexpected happened.
But the moment the sunlight streamed into the room, Chu Jianshan froze. The room was empty; Jiang Rusheng had been rescued.
Jiang Yan seemed to have known all along, and sighed softly, her tone carrying a hint of feigned helplessness: "My daughter has always been disobedient, and I have to go through the trouble of searching for her."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly turned to look at Chu Jianshan, the sinister look in his eyes almost devouring him: "But it doesn't matter, these things are just what you need."
Chu Jianshan's pupils shrank suddenly. Before he could react, Jiang Yan grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the chain in the corner.
"Master...Master!" He braced himself against the ground and shrank back, his heart pounding with panic, unsure whether Yan recognized him or not.
With a flick of Jiang Yan's sleeve, the cold iron chains suddenly came to life, coiling around Chu Jianshan's limbs like venomous snakes, tightening abruptly and suspending him in mid-air.
"Sect Leader, what are you doing?!" Chu Jianshan struggled and shouted, the iron chain around his neck making it hard for him to breathe.
Jiang Yan walked slowly closer, her shadow stretching long and narrow in the light and shadow.
As Chu Jianshan looked at his silhouette, he suddenly recalled the scene before his death. A chill ran up his spine, and even his fingertips began to go numb.
Jiang Yan stared at him for a long time before slowly speaking, her voice carrying a hint of inquiry: "I never knew that there was someone in Changjin Mountain who looked so much like him."
Chu Jianshan breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, Jiang Yan didn't recognize him.
It's not too good either; Jiang Yan still wants to kill him! To be killed twice by the same person, he's probably the first person in history to achieve this.
Jiang Yan slowly raised her hand, her fingertips gleaming coldly.
"Wait, wait!" Chu Jianshan hurriedly called out, "Sect Leader, before I die, I should at least know what crimes I've committed, so I can die with a clear conscience, right?"
Jiang Yan stopped moving, and Chu Jianshan's heart, which had been in his throat, finally calmed down a little.
“Looking exactly like that person is a capital offense.” Jiang Yan’s voice was completely calm.
Chu Jianshan was dumbfounded: "?"
Is there no law anymore? He's only been out for a short time, why does everyone want to kill him? Is looking like him a crime?
"Sect Leader... Sect Leader," he swallowed hard, trying to explain, "This appearance is natural, I can't change it."
Jiang Yan was too lazy to listen to his nonsense. She raised her hand and drew the long sword from her waist, the tip of the sword pointing directly at Chu Jianshan's heart.
"Wait!" Chu Jianshan called out again.
Jiang Yan's patience had clearly run out, her brows furrowed: "Any last words?"
"Was the young master locked up in this room before?" Chu Jianshan stared into his eyes, speaking rapidly.
Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat interesting, and nodded in agreement: "Yes."
That's your biological daughter.
"So what if she's my own daughter?" Jiang Yan said nonchalantly. "Anyone who gets in my way deserves to die. I'm only sparing her life because of our blood ties."
His gaze swept across Chu Jianshan's face, and his tone suddenly turned ruthless. "Looking at her face, which looks more and more like those two siblings, I've wanted to strangle her for a long time. It's already a mercy of me to have tolerated her until now."
“Compassion? Ha.” Chu Jianshan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, his laughter full of sarcasm. “Killing his wife and abandoning his children, how compassionate.”
Jiang Yan's eyes widened suddenly, her face filled with disbelief, and she asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"
Chu Jianshan curled his lips into a smile: "Sect Leader, why don't you take a guess?"
Jiang Yan stared intently at his face for a long time, then suddenly revealed a chilling smile, her voice sinister: "Well, it really is you back."
"What, is the sect leader also afraid that Immortal Venerable Chu will turn into a vengeful ghost and take lives?" Chu Jianshan retorted defiantly, his tone laced with provocation.
"Afraid?" Jiang Yan's face darkened, and her eyes turned fierce. "I'm never afraid of anything. Even a vengeful ghost, I can make it vanish into thin air."
"Is that so? But even without vengeful ghosts, there are plenty of people in this world who want you dead."
Jiang Yan sneered: "There are very few people in this world who can kill me."
"What a coincidence." Chu Jianshan gestured with his chin toward what was behind him. "Look behind you."
Jiang Yan's heart tightened, and he turned around abruptly. A powerful shockwave instantly struck him, sending him flying and crashing into the bookshelf behind him. The books on the shelf clattered to the ground, and the tables and chairs were shattered into pieces.
“Using things from my Linyi Gate is quite convenient.”
Cheng Yuan stood at the door, his fingertips gently twisting his wrist. The iron chains wrapped around Chu Jianshan seemed to recognize their master, obediently slipping away and winding their way back to his side.
Chu Jianshan's gaze shifted between the two men. Both of them wanted to kill him; he was the most pitiful one.
Now that he had lost his spiritual power, he could only try to minimize his presence. As soon as he landed, he consciously shrank into a corner, intending to be invisible and not get involved in the feud between the two.
Jiang Yan slowly got up from the ground, dusted off the hem of her clothes, and looked at Cheng Yuan warily: "Your Excellency's arrival is an honor. Why didn't you inform us in advance?"
Cheng Yuan entered the room alone, clearly having barged in by himself. He walked slowly into the room, his tone unhurried: "I just suddenly remembered something."
"What is it?" Jiang Yan's palms were sweating.
"I've been so busy taking care of my master all these years that I forgot to come and take your life." Cheng Yuan's voice was soft, yet it carried an air of authority.
Jiang Yan forced a calm expression: "What do you mean by that, Your Excellency? What grudge do we have between us?"
"I may not know, but others do." Cheng Yuan curled his lips, his eyes icy. "You just need to obediently accept your fate and die."
He approached step by step: "I've cleared out all the people around here. Don't even think about outnumbering us."
Jiang Yan subconsciously took a half step back, her voice trembling: "You... know what?"
"all."
The moment those two words were uttered, a powerful surge of black energy rushed towards Jiang Yan, causing him to kneel uncontrollably on the ground. He hurriedly reached for the sword at his waist, but the sword was only halfway out of its sheath when it was firmly held down by a force.
Cheng Yuan reached out and grabbed his neck, slowly lifting him up. Chu Jianshan, who was in the corner, could see it clearly and even hear the cracking sound of Jiang Yan's neck bones.
Jiang Yan struggled desperately, her fingers digging into Cheng Yuan's wrist, and managed to squeeze out a few words: "If you kill me, Changjin Mountain will never tolerate you again! Your master... he doesn't want to see this happen either!"
Cheng Yuan tilted his head slightly, his tone tinged with amusement: "It is a pity. But who told you I was going to kill you with my own hands?"
He stepped aside, revealing the person behind him.
The person was thin and dressed in pure white, even the hair ornaments on their head were plain white, as if they were in mourning, making them particularly conspicuous in the dimly lit room.
"How have you been, Father?"
Cheng Yuan released his grip, and Jiang Yan fell heavily to the ground. After recognizing the person who had come, Jiang Yan took a barely perceptible half-step back.
"It's up to you now."
Cheng Yuan swung the iron chains, binding Jiang Yan, then turned and walked away. As he passed the corner of the wall, he didn't forget to reach out and pull out Chu Jianshan, who was huddled there.
"It's not a nice sight to see a father and daughter fighting each other. Come with me."
"Hey, you!" Before Chu Jianshan could say anything, he was pulled away and walked outside.
Inside the room, Jiang Yan looked at Jiang Rusheng and suddenly laughed, her laughter hoarse and manic: "Hahahaha... Colluding with the traitors of Linyi Sect just to kill your own father? You really are my good daughter."
Jiang Rusheng didn't speak, but walked towards him step by step, her face expressionless, but her eyes were filled with overwhelming hatred.
Jiang Yan asked again, "Who let you out?"
Jiang Rusheng said, "Didn't Father already have the answer in his heart?"
"Li... Xi!" Jiang Yan almost gritted her teeth as she uttered the name, wishing she could tear him to pieces.
Jiang Yan glared fiercely at Jiang Rusheng, her eyes bloodshot. "You...you all want me dead!"
Jiang Rusheng curled her lips into a mocking smile: "So even Father is afraid of death. Have you ever considered how much pain my mother endured before she died?"
She reached out and grabbed Jiang Yan's neck, slowly tightening her grip without giving him any relief: "Will it hurt as much as it does now?"
Jiang Rusheng only relaxed her strength slightly when Jiang Yan's face turned ashen from holding his breath. Seeing his difficulty breathing, she felt a little relieved.
“That bitch…” Jiang Yan bit her lip until it bled, and drops of blood fell onto Jiang Rusheng’s hand. “You really think I’m the one who wronged her?”
He became agitated, his voice shrill: "She only married me because she had no other choice! She only agreed because she was desperate! We've lived like this for twenty years, sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams, a marriage in name only! Even you, you little bastard, are exactly like your mother, just as despicable!"
Jiang Rusheng listened quietly to him finish speaking. Instead of the expected outburst of anger, her memories drifted uncontrollably back to her childhood.
With the same face, he smiled, picked her up, and spun her around, his voice gentle: "Our Asheng will definitely be a great beauty like Qinglan in the future."
Chu Qinglan stood aside and smiled as she told him to put the child down: "They say girls change a lot as they grow up, maybe she'll look more like you in the future."
Jiang Yan lowered his head and kissed her forehead, his tone carrying a hint of greed: "Then I'll hope that Asheng will be more like me in the future."
Jiang Rusheng closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, all that remained in her eyes was a coldness: "It's a pity, I will never be like you."
You think...you can kill me?
Jiang Yan suddenly unleashed his spiritual power, causing the air around him to surge violently. The iron chains binding him clanged and rattled, and cracks even appeared at the joints.
"You and I are both lowly people! In this life, we are destined to be trampled underfoot!"
"Zheng—"
The iron chain snapped in response, and Jiang Rusheng's pupils shrank. She hurriedly raised her hand to swing her whip to defend herself, but Jiang Yan's attack was fast and fierce. As soon as the whip collided with the opponent's spiritual power, it was shaken out of her hand.
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Yan charged forward with his sword, each move aimed at killing her.
Jiang Rusheng dodged several moves in a row, picked up the whip and lashed it at Jiang Yan's wrist. Taking advantage of the moment when he relaxed his strength, she took out several talismans from her waist.
Her voice was icy: "Father, there are far more people than just us who want you dead."
The talisman landed and instantly burned to ashes, then transformed into golden spiritual energy that gathered at Jiang Yan's feet.
Jiang Yan intended to thrust his sword out, but it felt as if someone had grabbed his shoulders, as if a million hands were trying to drag him into hell.
He immediately realized who could create such a formation, and couldn't help but laugh cruelly: "Oh, I forgot about that bastard."
Jiang Rusheng whipped forward without showing any mercy. The blood that splattered from the torn flesh fell onto his plain white clothes, like plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
Jiang Yan's spiritual power was severely suppressed, and she could only use two or three-tenths of it. Before she knew it, the whip was wrapped around her neck, and the whip kept tightening, swallowing up the little air left.
Jiang Yan struggled incessantly, gripping Jiang Rusheng's shoulders tightly, and suddenly flipped over.
Jiang Rusheng's back slammed into the low cabinet, and Jiang Yan took the opportunity to thrust out a sword, but she dodged it, and the cabinet instantly shattered into pieces.
Jiang Rusheng braced herself with one hand on the ground and lashed her whip at his lower body. Jiang Yan, knowing her moves, turned the tables and snatched the whip from his hand.
But Jiang Rusheng's expression remained unchanged; she had been waiting for this moment.
Without the whip in her hand, she formed a hand seal, and almost instantly, many extremely fine strings, glowing red, appeared out of thin air in the room.
Jiang Yan looked utterly incredulous: "How could you...?"
"Did Father really think I was born stupid?"
Memories of the past surged back like a tidal wave. When she finally understood, Jiang Yan almost ground her teeth to powder, trembled all over, and her eyes turned bloodshot.
"You... what a pair of mother and daughter! One is pretending to be crazy, the other is hiding her true abilities, saying I'm hypocritical, aren't you the same?! Even without evidence, you've already begun to suspect me, haven't you?"
He gripped Jiang Rusheng's shoulders tightly, his hair disheveled, and he seemed to be going crazy: "...Tell me, my dear Rusheng, isn't that right!!"
"yes."
The next second, the strings flew towards him at lightning speed.
Jiang Yan rolled away to dodge the attack, but Jiang Rusheng took back the whip, twisted her wrist, and the whip bound her up. The zither strings were still in the air, poised to strike.
“You…” Jiang Yan’s breathing was heavy, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly: “You…”
Jiang Rusheng said calmly, "Father, please continue to curse. After all, you won't have the chance again."
Jiang Yan's eyes flashed fiercely: "I raised you, and this is how you repay me?!"
"I also wish I could repay my father, but unfortunately you are not worthy of being a father at all."
She stared at Jiang Yan, as if she had made her final decision, "This whip was given to me by you when I was five years old, after I lost a fight with my fellow disciples."
Jiang Rusheng herself didn't realize that her vision was gradually blurring. "You told me, Asheng, don't be afraid. With Father here, no one can bully you."
A flicker of emotion crossed Jiang Yan's eyes, but it was only for a moment before her expression turned to one of utter hatred. "If I had known this would happen, I should have drowned you in the pond on the day you were born."
“Father,” Jiang Rusheng called to him, “Since you’ve been acting for so many years, why don’t you continue acting so that I can stay in this dream a little longer.”
The words were soft, but the strings in the air were already slowly falling, about to touch Jiang Yan's body.
Jiang Yan finally panicked and hurriedly said, "Daughter, good daughter! Ah Sheng!! No...you can't—!!"
Jiang Rusheng closed her eyes, and tears that had been held back for so long streamed down her cheeks. "How could I forget? You can't act forever."
"Strangulation."
The next instant, the strings plunged down.
The lamplight was lush and bright, and the shadow under the candlestick was instantly severed by the strings of the zither, shattering into countless black pieces.
A thick stench of blood assaulted her senses. Jiang Rusheng stared expressionlessly at the pile of flesh and blood before her, then raised her hand and knocked over the candlestick.
The faint flame first ignited the whip, then the clothes, the hair, and the person.
She turned and walked out without looking back.
As she opened the door, she caught a glimpse of a disciple crouching beside her, trembling. She slowly turned her head; the man's blood still stained her snow-white mourning clothes.
Jiang Rusheng said coldly, "Pass down the order: Jiang Yan, the leader of Changjin Mountain, was massacred by Linyi Sect and died without a complete corpse. From this day forward, his daughter Jiang Rusheng will succeed him as the leader and take charge of Changjin Mountain."
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