Chapter 118, Chapter 118, Senior Brother...
Chapter 118 Senior Brother
The gate of Kyoto Castle.
"This is Kyoto." After a long and arduous journey, they finally arrived at the gates of Kyoto. Yue Lingshan looked up in amazement at the massive city walls before her. "Senior brother, the city walls of Kyoto are different from those of other places; they look much more magnificent."
Linghu Chong nodded in agreement, "It is indeed very different." He glanced out of the corner of his eye at someone in the line behind him.
"Will we be able to find our senior brother?" After the initial excitement, Yue Lingshan was filled with worry. "We snuck out of here. If we can't find our senior brother, we'll really be at a huge loss."
The thought of facing the furious Yue Buqun upon returning sent a chill down Yue Lingshan's spine.
Linghu Chong comforted him, "Don't worry, we'll definitely find our senior brother. His name is so well-known in the capital, we can find him with just a few inquiries. Don't worry."
What he really wanted to say was that his master might not have the time to worry about the two of them right now. Ever since they left Fuzhou, his master had been acting strangely, and later Linghu Chong even secretly discovered that his master... Thinking about that incident, he felt somewhat unable to face his master.
But a master is a master, and Linghu Chong could not possibly betray the Huashan Sect because of this. However, he also wanted to hide away for a while, thinking that if he did, he might be able to accept it. So when he learned that his junior sister wanted to go find his senior brother, he took her down the mountain.
As for her master's wife, the two of them left her a letter, so she knows where they went and shouldn't be too worried.
"Hmm." Yue Lingshan nodded, then her expression became excited again. "Senior Brother is indeed Senior Brother, he's so amazing. He's only been out in the world for such a short time, not even a fraction of the time Father spent in the world, yet he's already made such a name for himself. It's truly admirable."
In fact, Yue Lingshan also sensed the strange atmosphere within the Huashan Sect. Looking at her father, who was completely different from before, her mother with a worried expression, and the disunited disciples, she felt deeply concerned about the sect's future. After much thought, she felt that perhaps bringing her senior brother back would change things.
After leaving the Huashan Sect, Yue Lingshan heard the renowned name of the Shadowless Sword, which strengthened her resolve to bring her senior brother back to the sect. She believed that if he returned, he could restore the sect's reputation, bringing a new order and making her parents and everyone else happy.
Yue Lingshan's thoughts were simple, while Linghu Chong's were much more complex. But whatever their reasons, they both wanted to find their senior brother from the Huashan Sect. They naively believed that if they could help Linghao regain his memories and transform him into Linghu Hao, everything would proceed in the direction they desired.
The two of them were looking for Linghu Hao, while Lin Pingzhi was looking for Ling Hao.
The crisis at Fuwei Escort Agency had passed, and the muddy waters of Fuzhou had cleared, but Lin Pingzhi's mindset had changed. He used to believe that his martial arts skills, if not top-tier, were at least second-rate. But later events proved that his skills were utterly mediocre.
In the martial arts world, those who lack sufficient skill are left at the mercy of others, even if justice prevails. Lin Pingzhi wanted to protect his parents and the Fuwei Escort Agency, but he knew perfectly well that his martial arts were inadequate and he simply couldn't do it.
Since he couldn't do it now, he explored all the possibilities that were achievable. After much thought, Lin Pingzhi even considered practicing the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual. However, his idea was promptly stopped by his parents, and he didn't succeed.
After much deliberation, Lin Pingzhi decided to find a master to teach him martial arts. This way, his skills could become even more formidable.
The Lin couple naturally agreed to his idea and even said they would ask someone to become Lin Pingzhi's apprentice. Now that the Fuwei Escort Agency was no longer in crisis, those old friends who might have been unwilling to save them before would no longer sever ties with them.
In this way, the couple could always find connections and build networks to find a suitable person to be Lin Pingzhi's mentor. However, while the Lin couple had this idea, Lin Pingzhi completely refused to agree.
In his view, those people were all sycophants and cowards who feared death. Although he could understand their reluctance to get involved in danger, it didn't mean he wanted one of them to become his master. Lin Pingzhi believed that his master should at least be a truly kind-hearted person.
He wouldn't want to be someone's disciple unless he was a true master or a true knight-errant.
When Lin Pingzhi thought about taking on a master, the first person that came to mind was Ling Hao. He believed that only someone like her deserved to be called a true knight-errant; most others were just seeking fame and fortune. He wanted to become Ling Hao's disciple and learn swordsmanship with her!
The Lin couple, however, did not think highly of Lin Pingzhi. He was their son, and of course they thought he was good. But Lin Pingzhi had already been learning martial arts without much effort, and now that he was already a teenager, it was unlikely that anyone would be willing to take him on as a student.
A swordswoman of her time like Ling Hao would only want disciples who are exceptionally talented and young. Moreover, she might not take on any disciples now, or even for the next decade or more, as she is still young.
But Lin Pingzhi refused to give up; he couldn't bring himself to abandon the task before it even began. So, under the cover of night, he left a letter for the Lin couple and then leisurely packed his bags and left Fuzhou. He inquired about local conditions along the way, heading towards the capital.
He listened to Ling Hao's various stories along the way, and his admiration for her only grew stronger. Lin Pingzhi had already decided that even if he couldn't become Ling Hao's apprentice, coming to the capital to see her would be worthwhile. After all, she was their Fuwei Escort Agency's savior; wasn't it only natural for him to come and see how his savior was doing?
The reason Lin Pingzhi followed Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan halfway was because he assumed they were from the Huashan Sect and overheard them inquiring about Ling Hao. Since they were disciples of the Huashan Sect—which hadn't yet been completely disgraced—and seemed to hold Ling Hao in high esteem, Lin Pingzhi figured following them would be safer.
Just as Lin Pingzhi had predicted, he followed Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan safely to the capital. Looking up at the city walls, he was filled with emotion. Finally, they had arrived in the capital; finally, he could see Master Ling. How wonderful!
After queuing and having their travel documents checked, Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan, and Lin Pingzhi finally entered the capital. They had been to bustling cities before, and for Lin Pingzhi, Fuzhou was already quite prosperous. But at this moment, they were all dazzled by the sight before them.
However, why does it seem like everyone in this crowd is heading in one direction?
Linghu Chong's gaze swept across the crowd, then he stopped a seemingly kind-hearted man, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Brother, hello. We just arrived in Kyoto today. May I ask why you're all heading in the same direction? Is there something ahead?"
The man was a little angry when he was stopped, but since the person who stopped him was a江湖人士 (jianghu figure, someone from the martial arts world) and was quite polite, he wasn't angry anymore. Upon hearing that they were from out of town, he said, "No wonder you didn't know. There's an execution at Caishikou today, and we're all rushing to watch."
"The vegetable market?" Linghu Chong was somewhat surprised. "Shouldn't executions in the capital be carried out in the autumn?" Generally speaking, the timing of executions also matters.
The man said, "The people to be executed today are different. They're a bunch of womanizers. You don't know, but this was specially approved by the Emperor. The people executing them this time are eunuchs from the palace. We're all rushing to see the spectacle. I'm leaving now, otherwise I won't get a good spot."
After saying that, he didn't care anymore and charged forward.
Linghu Chong felt that the people in the capital seemed a bit strange. Why were they so eager to execute people? Was it because the flower thief was such a heinous crime?
"Senior brother, let's go see too." Yue Lingshan understood the implication of the older brother's words, and pulled Linghu Chong's sleeve as she ran forward with the crowd.
Linghu Chong looked bewildered. "Junior Sister, slow down."
"Huh? Where are they going?" Lin Pingzhi, who was still following behind the two after entering the city, was a little puzzled, but before he could figure it out, his legs had already started moving and he was following. No matter what they were going to do, he could go and see.
The execution ground was packed with people. If it weren't for the Five City Garrison officers stopping them, they might have even tried to sneak under the execution platform and watch.
Zhuiming, who had appeared here on the emperor's orders, couldn't help but twitch his lips. "Senior Brother, it's quite lively here."
Wuqing didn't want to speak. He longed to go back and continue dealing with his affairs, rather than waiting here for the appointed time to execute these womanizers. But it was the Emperor's order, and he had no choice.
"Sigh." Zhuiming sighed, "They were already crippled, so why bother?" The same person crippled them; he felt a pang of pain when he first saw it.
Wuqing said, "It's probably to deter others with malicious intentions."
"No, no, no, I think it should be intimidation." Zhuiming seemed to have thought of something, and the smile on his face became meaningful. "Speaking of which, we should thank your young lady for showing mercy and leaving them something on their bodies. Otherwise, even if they were to be executed today, there would be nothing to cut off."
ruthless:"……"
If I could, I really wish Zhui Ming would shut up.
Zhui Ming wasn't going to shut up; his words were quite amusing. "It's said that after they learned they were going to be castrated, they even considered suicide, but they were under strict guard and couldn't manage it. Senior Brother, you said that since they couldn't use that thing on their bodies anymore, they could just cut it off; why did they have to try to kill themselves?"
They are heartless and don't reply.
He didn't reply, so Zhui Ming could continue, "I know, they might be clinging to illusions, thinking they can still be saved, that as long as they find a good doctor, they can become men again. Tsk tsk tsk, they're thinking too much."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Ruthless: Actually, being the senior disciple is quite tough, just like now...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
