Chapter 53 Young Master
"What?" Jiang Yan gasped.
The alliance agreement has not yet been broken, and the two sides have not yet torn off their masks. Why is Linyi Sect in such a hurry? Or is it that their strength has become so great that they no longer need to care whether other sects will join forces to fight against the enemy?
Dong Huai Ren sneered from the side: "The Linyi Sect understands the situation better than some people. Now that all the sect elders are in Changjin Mountain, wouldn't it be great if we wiped them all out in one fell swoop?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan gripped his sword tighter and turned his back to him, saying, "It's still unclear what they're up to. Sect Master, you shouldn't make any hasty judgments."
"Qianfan, Chengyuan," Jiang Yan called out the names of the two men, "come with me to take a look."
"Yes!" they both replied simultaneously.
The others were also curious and followed, and the large group of people arrived at the mountain gate, facing the people from Linyi Gate.
Separated by a barrier, cultivators from the Linyi Sect flew around Changjin Mountain on their swords in mid-air. At the mountain gate, a group of people were carrying a sedan chair covered with gauze curtains, presumably for the newly appointed sect leader of the Linyi Sect. A gentle breeze blew the gauze curtains, obscuring the faces of the people in the sedan chair.
Seeing this, Bai Qianfan nudged Cheng Yuan with his elbow, tilted his head and laughed, "A grown man using such a flashy sedan chair, he's quite the show-off."
After waiting a while and seeing that Cheng Yuan ignored him, Bai Qianfan silently turned his head back and muttered, "What a boring person."
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yan stepped forward two steps, bowed, and asked, "May I ask who the envoy is?"
No one from the Linyi Gate responded, and the scene became somewhat awkward. Jiang Yan seemed to understand something and immediately lowered her waist even further. Only then did a maid standing beside the sedan chair speak calmly: "This is the Lord of Linyi Gate. Everyone, why don't you quickly pay your respects?"
"Heh, Your Majesty?" Dong Huai Ren sneered, "You haven't even become the ruler of the world yet, but you've already bestowed this title upon yourself."
His voice was quite loud, and the maidservant must have heard it. Just as she was about to make a move, she was stopped by the person in the sedan chair. The maidservant nodded slightly and stopped in place.
Jiang Yan then asked, "May I ask what brings Your Excellency here?"
The maidservant answered again: "Having heard that it is the birthday of Sect Leader Jiang's only daughter, I have come to offer my congratulations."
Someone in the crowd said, "Congratulations? There are far too many people here."
The speaker was Li Xi, the head of Changjinshan Herbal Medicine Hall. She had been unknown in the crowd before, so few people noticed her.
Jiang Yan turned to her and said, "Li Xi, you mustn't be rude."
The maid didn't seem to care, just smiled and continued, "Of course, it's not just about this one thing. We've come here to welcome back the young master of Linyi Gate."
These words immediately caused a stir in the room.
"Young Master? I've never heard of any young master from Linyi Sect."
"Could it be that the young master she was talking about is among us?"
"Does that mean there's a traitor among us?"
Those who knew about this instinctively looked at Cheng Yuan, but Cheng Yuan only gripped the Liuyin Sword tightly in his hand and didn't dare to reply. Chu Jianshan gently rubbed the back of his hand, signaling him not to panic.
Dong Huai Ren, however, was furious. He took several steps forward and shouted, "Bah! What young master? I've lived all these years and never heard of any young master in Linyi Sect! It's just an excuse for your wolfish ambitions! I bet if we can't hand over this young master today, you'll use that as a pretext to convict us all?!"
"If you want to besiege me, then besiege me! Why do you need such a lame excuse?! Do you really think I, Dong Huai Ren, am afraid of you?!"
Chu Jianshan couldn't help but roll his eyes at him. It wasn't his Shao Xuan Sect that was being besieged, so of course he wasn't afraid. What did he mean by saying that no reason was needed? May I ask if he was the one who was making all sorts of excuses for Chang Jinshan in the main hall just now?
Despite the barrage of insults, the maid remained calm and composed, her voice low but firm: "Sect Leader Dong, please do not be hasty. There is indeed a young master, and he is among us."
"Alright!" Dong Huai-ren was still clearly unconvinced and continued, "Then tell me, why is your Linyi Sect's young master among us?"
The maid slowly recounted: "More than twenty years ago, the then-head of Linyi Sect, Liu, was lax in managing his subordinates, which led to an internal strife. Liu was assassinated, and his wife gave birth to a baby boy in the chaos. She claimed that the baby was stillborn, but in reality, she had her confidant take the baby out to save his life. However, since then, we have had no news of the young master, which is why it has been delayed for so long."
"Ha, you're making it sound so real." Dong Huai-ren pointed at the crowd behind him: "Then why don't you come and identify who among us is your young master?"
Upon hearing this, the maid took a few steps forward. Jiang Yan gestured for the gatekeeper to make way, and she came to the front of the group, looking them over repeatedly, left and right.
Dong Huai-ren teased, "So, how's it going? Have you found your young master yet?"
Suddenly, the maid stopped right in front of Dong Huai Ren and then slowly walked towards him.
Dong Huai Ren was taken aback by her actions and unconsciously took a half step back, asking in a panic, "W-what are you doing? I'm not your young master!"
But to everyone's surprise, the maid turned around as she walked up to him, heading straight for Cheng Yuan. She stopped in front of him, and their eyes met.
Dong Huai-ren, feeling humiliated, hurriedly pointed at Cheng Yuan and asked, "Him? Could he be...?"
"Young Master!" The maid suddenly knelt down in front of Cheng Yuan, her serious expression suggesting she wasn't joking.
Upon seeing the maid kneel down, those who had been guarding outside the gates of Changjin Mountain also knelt down, shouting in unison, "Young Master—!"
In an instant, the scene became somewhat awkward, and no one dared to speak again.
Cheng Yuan was more like someone being roasted over a fire. He never wanted to be the young master. Since they had already sent him away, why bother bringing him back? Judging from the appearance of this so-called lord, he couldn't possibly be really thinking about the Linyi Sect. He was probably after the puppet technique that Lin Mumu had mentioned before.
"I am not your young master," Cheng Yuan said coldly.
The maid smiled and said, "The young master was still an infant when he left Linyi Gate, so naturally he wouldn't remember."
Dong Huai-ren, standing next to her, rolled his eyes at her and said sarcastically, "If you say it's him, then I could say it is!"
As he spoke, he nudged Bai Qianfan behind him. Bai Qianfan glanced at him and thought he was crazy, so he quickly patted the spot he had touched to avoid bad luck.
Upon hearing this, the maid stood up and said to the crowd, "Whether it is true or not, we'll know once we try."
"Oh?" Dong Huai-ren looked at her questioningly. "How do you want to try it?"
The maid waved her hand, and someone from Linyi Gate brought out something that looked like a dagger, with a sizable ruby inlaid on the hilt, which shone brightly in the sunlight.
She explained, "This is the treasure of our Linyi Clan. Only those with pure bloodlines from the Linyi Clan can make this thing react."
She looked at Cheng Yuan and said, "Since no one believes it, why doesn't the young master give it a try?"
But to everyone's surprise, Cheng Yuan took a half step back and said firmly, "I will not try. I have already said that I am not a member of your Linyi Sect."
If it really isn't true, why not give it a try? Cheng Yuan's reaction only made others more suspicious. At this moment, Jiang Yan also came over, put her hand on his shoulder and advised, "Just give it a try. If it really isn't true, Changjin Mountain will definitely not let you suffer any injustice."
Cheng Yuan remained silent, but Chu Jianshan noticed the unpleasant expression on his face. He stepped forward, partially blocking Cheng Yuan's view, and said, "Whether it is true or not, it's just the opinion of the Linyi Sect. We don't know if this is true or false. Sect Leader, don't be deceived."
Before Jiang Yan could answer, the maid became excited: "How could our treasures, passed down through generations, be fake? If you don't believe me, everyone can take a look."
As she spoke, she made a cut on her palm, and blood immediately flowed out. Chu Jianshan felt pain just watching it.
Blood dripped onto the dagger, and everyone wanted to get closer to take a look, but they didn't see the dagger react at all.
The maid seized the opportunity to explain, "Only the young master's blood can make it effective."
She knelt before Cheng Yuan again and pleaded, "Young Master, please examine me."
Cheng Yuan simply shook his head and whispered, "I'm not, I won't take the test."
He was in a bad mood, but Chu Jianshan couldn't comfort him at that moment, so he could only block the view of the crowd for him.
Suddenly, the maid stood up abruptly, trying to grab Cheng Yuan's hand. Chu Jianshan knew what she was going to do and immediately raised his hand to block her, but he was too late. She succeeded and Cheng Yuan's finger was cut open, and blood dripped vertically onto the dagger.
Almost instantly, the dagger greedily drank the blood, and the red gem immediately shone, revealing the identity of the blood's owner.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
"He's reacting! He's reacting! He really is!"
All eyes turned to Cheng Yuan, who looked like a monster being watched. He lowered his head, his breathing becoming increasingly unsteady. Under the cover of the crowd, Chu Jianshan took his hand and whispered, "Don't worry, I'm here."
The maid said, "Now that your identity has been verified, please come back with us, young master."
As she spoke, she reached out to grab Cheng Yuan, but Bai Qianfan slapped her away: "Don't even think about it! Cheng Yuan grew up under the tutelage of my Changjin Mountain sect. What kind of trash are you to think you can take him away? Dream on!"
“This immortal lord,” the maid finally looked him in the eye, her smile enigmatic, “you seem to have misunderstood. I am not here to discuss matters with you. If you delay in handing over the person, the entire Changshan Mountain will suffer.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the disciples of Linyi Sect guarding outside Changjin Mountain instantly drew their swords, and the cultivators outside the barrier also began to condense spiritual power in their palms.
With five thousand cultivators breaking through the barrier simultaneously, the barrier couldn't hold for long. Moreover, without Xie Yin and Chu Qingyuan, the two main forces within Changjin Mountain, it was naturally no match for them. People from other sects couldn't arrive in time either. If Linyi Sect wanted to, it was entirely possible to annihilate them at this moment.
But Bai Qianfan was not afraid. He had already drawn his sword three-tenths of the way out of its sheath, ready to charge at any moment.
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