Chapter 29 Part 2

That year, Cai Pingshu, who had just turned sixteen, had the earnest and worried Chang Haosheng on her left, the newly coaxed-back-from-Xuankong-Nunnery Ning Xiaofeng on her right, and the simple-minded, insecure, and introverted Qi Yunke sitting in the middle.

She wanted to put Chang Haosheng at ease, to cheer Ning Xiaofeng up, and to encourage Qi Yunke, so she used her full strength in the competition—the truth was, after wandering outside for over a year, she had no idea that her cultivation had far surpassed that of her peers in the Six Sects.

In the end, Grand Beginning Abbey's treasured sword was broken, and a rift was created.

Ning Xiaofeng had said that Cai Pingshu later felt some regret. Wu Yuanying was actually generous and heroic, an upright person well worth befriending. It was a real pity that the incident had made everyone lose face.

...

The two finally arrived at Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff.

Seven enormous, black chain boxes stood at the edge of the cliff. Each chain box was square on the outside and round on the inside, containing a massive chain wheel axle and a powerful profound iron mechanism, ready to release or retract the iron chains at any moment.

At this time, all seven chain boxes had shot out their iron chains, but the locks had also been released, and the chains hung down into the deep abyss below. Surrounding the chain boxes were the scattered corpses of the cliff-guarding disciples, as well as some gray-clothed men and outer sect disciples who had died fighting each other.

Chang Ning's wide sleeves fluttered as he leaped over to examine the bodies. He would sometimes turn over the corpses of the gray-clothed men, and other times squat down to inspect the wounds on the sect disciples' bodies. Cai Zhao stood quietly beside him.

A quarter of an hour later, he came to a conclusion: "There's an inside man."

"You flipped over corpses for half a day just to figure that out? I knew that too."

Cai Zhao sighed. "The chains were sent out from Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff, not shot over from Wind and Cloud Peak on the opposite side. Naturally, the ones causing trouble were people from within the sect." That was stating the obvious.

"Was some outer sect disciple bribed? Or was a family member who came up the cliff to visit their child impersonated?" She guessed wildly—there were at least two to three hundred people in the sect, and if you included the cooks, gardeners, maids, and servants, the scope of potential traitors was too large.

"Strange, truly strange." Chang Ning's expression, however, grew increasingly solemn.

Cai Zhao dropped her mocking tone. "What is it?"

"Come and see." Chang Ning pointed to several corpses of sect disciples on the ground. "This one died by a Judge's Brush, this one by Water-Parting Emei Piercers, and these three by a Purple Gold Hammer—yet among the corpses of the Demonic Cult members lying on the ground, none used these three types of weapons."

Cai Zhao looked them over. "That means the ones who used these three weapons left immediately after killing."

Chang Ning nodded, then pointed to four or five corpses of the gray-clothed men. "Now look at these few. Apart from one who died by a longsword, the other four died by the Great Compassion Hand and the Vajra Finger—yet among the sect disciples on the ground, there are no traces of anyone having practiced the Great Compassion Hand or the Vajra Finger."

The Great Compassion Hand and the Vajra Finger were both incomparably fierce external martial arts. Therefore, anyone who practiced these skills would inevitably have thick, rough calluses on their palms and fingers.

Cai Zhao thought for a moment. "It might have been Martial Uncle Chen and Martial Uncle Ouyang. I heard they were both formerly Buddhist disciples who were recruited by Old Sect Master Yin after they returned to secular life." According to Fan Xingjia, both men had a blood feud with the Demonic Cult, but the rules of Jialan Temple were strict and forbade monks from starting conflicts with the Demonic Cult for personal revenge, so the two had to renounce their vows.

Chang Ning glanced at the girl. "It doesn't have to be someone from a Buddhist sect to practice the Great Compassion Hand and the Vajra Finger."

He added, "What I mean is, it wasn't a case of mutual destruction. Rather, people from both sides withdrew completely. There was probably a fierce battle, the Demonic Cult villains fled first, and the sect disciples chased after them, leaving many corpses on the ground. But the strange part is right here—"

"If you have something to say, just say it. Stop keeping me in suspense." Cai Zhao's head ached from thinking. "Falling Blossoms Valley is peaceful and prosperous. I've never encountered anything like this."

"Come look at these few corpses. The wounds are either on their backs or their sides, and their swords are still in their sheaths. It's clear they were ambushed and killed before they could even fight back." Chang Ning moved away from these six or seven corpses, walked a few steps to the left, and pointed at the ground. "Now look at these two corpses. Although they were wounded from the front, their swords were only halfway drawn, their elbows not yet straight, and their expressions before death were of utter shock—clearly because they saw an 'ally' suddenly attack."

Cai Zhao agreed. "To kill eight cliff-guarding disciples in an instant, there must have been more than one traitor."

Chang Ning nodded. "After swiftly killing the cliff guards, the traitors immediately opened the chain boxes, started the mechanisms, and shot the chains to the other side—Wind and Cloud Peak must have been under the enemy's control by then. However, once these profound iron mechanisms are activated, they produce a heaven-shaking roar, which would have alerted the nearby patrol disciples..."

"Is the sound of activating the mechanisms that loud?" Cai Zhao was skeptical.

Chang Ning: "You're underestimating Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff. For two hundred years, the Demonic Cult has tried everything to attack the cliff without success. The Qingque Sect naturally has its superior methods."

"From the cliff's edge to Twilight Palace, there are checkpoints and watchtowers everywhere, with disciples patrolling back and forth. If one spot is attacked, a warning whistle is immediately sounded, and reinforcements come from all directions." He pointed to the disciple who had died with his sword half-drawn; sure enough, a silver whistle hung around his neck.

"Even if the cliff guards were ambushed before they could blow their whistles, the thunderous roar of the mechanisms activating can be heard from seven or eight miles away. As long as the patrol teams aren't deaf, they can still blow their whistles to sound the alarm, and then the entire sect will know."

Cai Zhao couldn't help but press her small hand against the cold profound iron mechanism box, her expression filled with awe.

On second thought, she suddenly said, "That's not right. Even if disciples from all over rush here upon hearing the sound, the mechanisms would have already been activated, and the enemies would already be on their way up."

Chang Ning smiled. "How long did it take you to cross the iron chain from Wind and Cloud Peak to Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff?"

Cai Zhao was taken aback, recalling the swaying iron chain and the piercing screech of the metal platform. "My family of four came in a carriage, so it took quite a while. But if one used lightness skills, it would probably be much faster."

"Walking normally on the iron chain takes about half an hour. Leaping with lightness skills can cut that time in half," Chang Ning said quickly. "The mechanism activates, making a loud noise, and a quarter of an hour later, the enemies are on the cliff—but by then, the sect disciples have also arrived."

"Besides, only the first wave of people can get onto the cliff within a quarter of an hour. Even if all seven chains are deployed, and seven experts come up at once, if the reinforcing disciples far outnumber them, they only need to spare one or two people to open the lock inside the mechanism box. The chain will immediately detach, and everyone on it will fall into the abyss."

Cai Zhao thought it through carefully, and it was indeed so. "Also, if they want to use lightness skills, they can't be too close to each other. The chains are so wobbly, it's easy to fall off if people are crowded together."

She drew further conclusions. "The first patrol disciples to arrive would have run into the first wave of Demonic Cult villains. The villains were highly skilled, and the sect disciples were no match for them. However, more sect disciples arrived in succession... at least..."

She looked at the chaotic footprints on the ground. "At least forty or fifty people." The Qingque Sect was accustomed to forming groups of seven, so there were at least seven or eight patrol groups around the cliff's edge.

"About twenty or so Demonic Cult villains probably made it up." Chang Ning also estimated the time.

Cai Zhao continued, "The number of sect disciples grew, and the Demonic Cult villains were outnumbered. By then, the locks on the mechanism boxes had been opened, so the rest of the Demonic Cult members couldn't come up. They didn't linger in battle but instead fought hard to injure several sect disciples before breaking away and heading north."

In terms of individual combat strength, the Demonic Cult villains were clearly stronger than the sect disciples, so they couldn't be stopped. Thus, some people were sent to blow the horns to alert the entire sect, while the rest gave chase.

"That should be what happened," Chang Ning said.

"But so what?" Cai Zhao looked at Chang Ning. "We've deduced so much, but even if it's all correct, so what?" —'Aren't you going to hurry up and reinforce Twilight Palace, you damn poison-sore-faced guy.'

Chang Ning seemed to read the girl's anxiety. "So here's the question. Did the Demonic Cult go to all this trouble just to get twenty-odd people onto Qingque Sect's mountain? What can twenty-odd people do? If hundreds of sect disciples swarmed them, they would be trampled to death."

Cai Zhao was also baffled. How would she know?

Her head throbbing, she looked around randomly and suddenly pointed to a corpse on the ground. "You said this person was killed by a traitor's sneak attack?"

Chang Ning was startled, answered yes, and asked why.

Cai Zhao said in astonishment, "This, this is Grand Beginning Abbey's sword technique!"

Chang Ning was greatly shocked and looked down—he saw that the person had been stabbed through the left chest, the sword exiting from the right side of his back, a single fatal blow. "Are you sure?"

Cai Zhao nodded vigorously, pointing to the man's left chest. "If you don't believe me, tear open his clothes and see. Isn't there a semi-circular mark where the sword tip entered the flesh?"

Chang Ning tore open the clothes on the corpse's chest, and it was indeed so.

Cai Zhao said, "This is the thirteenth move of Grand Beginning Abbey's Purple Sun Sword Technique, 'Moon-Gazing through the Window,' a signature move created by the third-generation abbot of Grand Beginning Abbey, Xiaoyao Zi. My aunt told me about it. When executing the move, you first lower your body halfway, then thrust upward at the enemy's vital point. Because you have to exert force upward, you have to rotate the hilt as the sword enters the flesh, which is why it leaves this curved sword mark."

Chang Ning looked down again. Next to the silver whistle on the corpse's neck, there were faint traces of saliva. "This disciple saw his fellow sect members being killed, so he bit down on the whistle first before drawing his sword, planning to blow the whistle while defending himself..."

Cai Zhao understood and finished his sentence, "The traitor was afraid this disciple would blow the whistle before he could activate the mechanisms, and in his haste to prevent the Demonic Cult villains from being delayed, he used his own sect's sword technique to kill the man with a single strike."

Chang Ning: "Is 'Moon-Gazing through the Window' a move that only disciples of Grand Beginning Abbey can use?"

A chill ran down Cai Zhao's spine. "It should be. Even my aunt could only imitate its form; she didn't know the mnemonic or the heart sutra."

—Within the sect, the only ones who could use Grand Beginning Abbey's sword techniques were the brothers Wu Gang and Wu Xiong, who were staying in the sect to recuperate!

Cai Zhao's head felt as big as a bucket. "All the sect disciples know them. Why didn't they just send a message to raise the alarm?!"

Chang Ning said in a low voice, "The Wu brothers must have left immediately after activating the mechanisms. Everyone who saw them is dead, and the patrol disciples who arrived later didn't see them."

Cai Zhao looked at Chang Ning in a panic.

Chang Ning understood, grabbed the girl, and flew north.

Author's Note:

This story is plot-driven, so there might be fewer romantic elements.