Ji Mofan still felt that his suspicions were absurd.
“It’s just a sword tassel. Perhaps your friend had some dealings with the Supreme Venerable One during his lifetime, which is why it ended up in his hands,” he said.
Xu Jingwen took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress his turbulent emotions. "But the problem is, my friend's body was never found when he died."
"He suddenly died during a training expedition. The sect sent disciples to search for him, but they only found some of his belongings and a blood-stained sword," he said.
"That training trip shouldn't have had such a strange accident. They were supposed to go to a secret realm with a very low risk factor. My friend was even leading the team and taking the younger members out just in case."
Ji Mofan felt that this story sounded somewhat familiar.
They ventured out to gain experience, only to be completely wiped out in what should have been a peaceful secret realm...
Isn't this the way Ge Gen died in his previous life?
A chill suddenly crept up his spine, and Ji Mofan rarely felt the night wind was so cold that his bones trembled.
He had always thought that Qi Fengyu was the one who targeted Ge Gen.
The monster that appeared in the Shallow Ocean Secret Realm was a contracted beast he had somehow acquired, and his recurring illness forced him to take the initiative to find a way to prolong his life...
But upon closer reflection, it seems that Qi Fengyu in his previous life did not suddenly experience a change in his physical condition after Ge Gen's death.
Although their relationship wasn't close enough for them to spend every day together, Ji Mo Fan, as the senior brother, had always been very concerned about his condition.
If Qi Fengyu had intended to conceal something, Ji Mofan might have indeed overlooked some details. But at that time, Qi Fengyu had no reason to do so, because regardless of whether his condition improved or not, their Daoist ceremony was already a done deal.
In this life, he also encountered an assassination attempt along with Gegen. To this day, he still doesn't know who the mastermind behind that assassin from the Diesh was.
If that person is indeed the Supreme Venerable who has been hiding within the Xiaoling Sect, remaining unassuming and lowly...
"Are you telling me all this to avenge your friend who died under mysterious circumstances?" His thoughts were somewhat chaotic, and Ji Mofan tried hard to grasp a fleeting moment of inspiration.
"I want to know the truth." Xu Jingwen gripped the sword at his waist, the tassel on it swaying gently in the night.
"His death was bizarre, and for all these years I've been trying to find the real culprit," he said. "Even though I personally went to the scene, there's no doubt it was an accident caused by a monster..."
"But before entering the Hall of the Supreme Venerable One, I had not found the sword tassel that I had given him."
*
The late-night conversation with Xu Jingwen failed to resolve Ji Mofan's doubts; instead, it raised even more questions.
The Supreme Venerable One was a participant in the great war between immortals and demons a thousand years ago. Why would he want to reignite that nightmarish war?
Even someone as unrestrained and capricious as Xiao Wangyan never entertained the idea of infringing upon the borders of the cultivation world.
Communication between the two realms has become so minimal that it's almost nonexistent, and this only gradually changed after he came to power.
Since the demonic path and the righteous path loathe each other, a fact that is almost an innate instinct that cannot be eliminated, then it's better not to meet at all.
The peaceful coexistence that has lasted for thousands of years is now at risk of being broken.
Even after returning to the lounge, Ji Mofan still looked thoughtful.
Even the disciple who shared a tent with him seemed hesitant to speak, and was only stopped when he was called out, "Um... Junior Brother Ji Mo?"
Lost in thought, Ji Mofan turned and looked at him blankly.
The somewhat unfamiliar disciple of Chaoming Palace silently pointed to Ji Mofan's room, "The Demon Lord and Elder Xie are inside... Anyway, you'd better be mentally prepared if you want to go in."
Ji Mofan was completely confused by his reminder.
How did these two completely unrelated people end up together?
Moreover... Xiao Wangyan is one thing, but how did Xie Qingya sneak into the players' rest tent?
To prevent management chaos, there are dedicated personnel on duty at the entrance of the rest area, and you can only be allowed to enter by showing your pass.
Even if the guards are to turn a blind eye, they should at least be able to produce the wooden plaques from the previous few matches.
How many years ago was the last time Xie Qingya participated in the Dao Inquiry Conference? Three hundred years!
Puzzled, Ji Mofan lifted the curtain that blocked his view and couldn't help but catch his breath.
He considers himself the type of person who is not easily frightened by absurd things.
But since his rebirth, he has felt his heart stop and start beating several times.
"...What are you doing?" He took a deep breath before he could speak normally.
The lounge, which was neat and tidy before he left, is now a complete mess.
The tables, chairs, and benches were crooked and twisted, and the sheets on the bed were inexplicably crumpled up into the shape of a small animal. Ji Mofan felt that it was somewhat similar to the prototype of Xihe, which was hard to look at.
"Little—Puppet—" Xiao Wangyan, who had drunk an unknown amount of wine, ran around the room with his face flushed red, and even tried to pounce on Ji Mofan when he saw him.
Ji Mofan was genuinely frightened. Without drawing the Embracing Snow Sword, he grabbed the scabbard and swung it at the enemy.
In the end, Xiao Wangyan touched his face, which had a red mark on it, and ran to a corner to draw circles in frustration.
Ji Mofan felt his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. He looked at Xie Qingya, who was squatting at the other end of the room, holding a stool as a helmet.
“…Good disciple, listen to your master’s excuses…” he weakly defended himself.
"Master, it's one thing for you to drink alone, but why do you have to get everyone you meet drunk?" Ji Mo Fan felt so tired that he lost all his strength.
He hung the Embracing Snow Sword back on his waist, reached out and took the stool that Xie Qingya had covered his head with, patted off the non-existent dust on it, and plopped down on it himself.
The room was a mess, but he had no mood to tidy it up. He just sat there staring at his cheap master.
"...I wanted to come and see you." Xie Qingya took a while to stand up from the ground, looking like a child who had done something wrong in front of his disciple.
"After all, this is your first Dao Inquiry Conference since you became my disciple, and I was thinking you might be nervous... or something." He stroked his white hair. "But when I entered, I only saw the Demon Lord, so I couldn't just turn around and leave. We ended up chatting and drinking..."
Ji Mofan pressed his forehead. "This Demon Lord... doesn't he know he can't drink alcohol at his age?"
“That’s right, that’s right…” Xie Qingya echoed repeatedly.
“You’re the same.” Ji Mofan looked up. “Knowing he couldn’t do it, why didn’t you stop sooner? Why did you keep drinking?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
