Immortalis

Tong Xue Eleven

The three of them descended the mountain once again.

"Aren't you afraid the Green Rain Sword might flee?"

Zhou Huai was somewhat uneasy.

Currently, all clues pointed to the Green Rain Sword, though conclusive evidence was still lacking.

Yang Wujian chuckled, "With such a grand reputation as one of the Immeasurable Seven Swords, where could he possibly run? Fleeing would be tantamount to admitting his guilt. These so-called righteous sects are experts at beating a drowning dog—if he dares to run, Immeasurable Manor would likely immediately accuse him of colluding with evil cults and hunt him to the ends of the earth."

"..."

Hearing this, Shen Qingshi glanced at her, "The Green Rain Sword has a renowned reputation; we truly need solid evidence."

Yang Wujian shrugged, "The only way the Green Rain Sword could be involved is if his son is implicated. Dong Lu has been on the mountain for years, backed by his father, making it far more likely for him to obtain the Colorless Powder than Lu Wenxiu. Meanwhile, Lu Wenxiu is close with Yu Dongxue, giving him more opportunity to administer the poison. Both are indispensable."

The three returned to Westwind Town and headed straight for the inn where they had previously stayed.

In recent days, many martial artists had already departed, and business at the inn had grown quiet again. Even the busy waiter was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the bored proprietor idly tapping his abacus behind the counter.

"Proprietor, we're back."

Zhou Huai stepped forward to greet him. His face was more effective than any martial reputation. Recognizing him, the proprietor immediately became attentive, "Young Master Zhou, you've returned! Our staff has taken leave these past couple of days to visit his parents' graves, so please forgive our poor hospitality."

Zhou Huai naturally had no interest in the fried peanuts served at the inn and got straight to the point, asking the proprietor which former sword manor disciples who had descended the mountain still resided in Westwind Town.

According to Dong Zhu, many had chosen to leave the martial world, so there must be others like Lu Wenxiu.

As long as they could find those involved from back then, they could determine the true nature of Lu Wenxiu and Dong Lu's relationship.

Fortunately, the proprietor had been doing business in Westwind Town for many years, and his intelligence gathering was no worse than that of White Rainbow Tower. He quickly listed several names—former mountain disciples who, upon descending, had met local girls, eventually married, settled down, and now had children running around.

"If you ask me, how many in this martial world actually make it big these days? Only those who've never experienced it romanticize it. Like our young waiter here, always gazing at the mountain, dreaming of going up. He never considers that if the martial world were so easy, why would so many come down?"

Before they left, the proprietor sighed and buried himself in his abacus again.

Following the proprietor's directions, the three soon found a cloth merchant's household in the town. In the dyeing courtyard, the master of the house was practicing swordplay with his two sons. Seeing them enter, the man sheathed his sword and slung it behind his back—his movements alone revealed he was once a skilled swordsman.

"Who are you?"

The proprietor had mentioned that the Immeasurable disciple who married the cloth merchant's daughter was named Xu Chu, also from Westwind Town, around the same age as Lu Wenxiu, and likely ascended the mountain together.

Upon learning their identities and purpose, Xu Chu sent the children inside and smiled wryly, "These are such old, moldy matters. I've been down the mountain for years, and I've forgotten much of what happened back then.""Is it that you can't remember, or that you still don't dare to discuss the son of the Immeasurable Seven Swords?"

Shen Qingshi wasn't so easily fooled. Having been accustomed to interrogating people in the Zhaoming Division, he had little patience. Seeing Xu Chu's hesitant expression, he immediately said coldly, "From the moment we came looking for you, the mountain already knew. Whether you tell us now or not makes no difference to them."

As Xu Chu's face changed, Yang Wujian smiled and lowered his voice, "If you know something, helping us bring them down might be your only chance. Don't forget your wife and children are in this town... Haven't you heard all these years about Lu Wenxiu's fate?"

"He..."

Lu Wenxiu's madness and his family's complete annihilation were well-known tragedies in West Wind Town. Xu Chu swallowed hard, hesitated for a long moment, and finally invited the three to a secluded side room. After closing the door, he asked, "Are you saying Lu Wenxiu went mad because of Dong Lu too?"

Yang Wujian poured him a cup of cold tea to calm his nerves and smiled, "Why else? You knew Lu Wenxiu, didn't you? Do you think he would just go mad for no reason?"

"..."

Xu Chu's face turned pale, "I knew it... That mountain was never a place of pure cultivation. Dong Lu, backed by the Seven Swords, never treated other disciples as human beings. In the end, he got his retribution but dragged Lu Wenxiu down with him..."

Since leaving the mountain, Xu Chu hadn't thought about those events for years. Yet, in midnight dreams, he would occasionally hear Lu Wenxiu's suppressed sobs in the disciples' quarters.

It all started simply because Lu Wenxiu, being physically weak, wanted to become a medical cultivator—something Dong Lu looked down upon the most... Then one night, Lu Wenxiu's coughing woke Dong Lu, and things escalated from there.

Fifteen years ago, there was an unwritten rule in the disciples' quarters: whenever you saw Dong Lu, son of the Green Rain Sword, it was best to lower your head and avoid him.

In terms of origin, they couldn't compare to him, and in martial skills, Dong Lu had his father giving him private lessons, having already mastered the entire sword manual—none of his peers were a match for him.

In those days, Dong Lu never had to fold his own blankets or take turns cleaning, as he had three followers who handled all such chores.

No one dared to provoke Dong Lu, not even the dormitory managers or Sword-Wielding Disciples. This meant that during those nights when Lu Wenxiu was punished and forced to stand awake all night, they all turned a blind eye to the suppressed crying in the room.

Just like Xu Chu himself had done back then.

Originally, he and Lu Wenxiu had ascended the mountain together. The Lu family had secretly given him pastries at the mountain gate, asking him to look after Lu Wenxiu, who was weak and small.

Having accepted this gift, Xu Chu had initially treated Lu Wenxiu like a younger brother. Until Lu Wenxiu crossed Dong Lu.

Lu Wenxiu tried to write letters home, but before they could be sent, Dong Lu's followers found and burned them. He tried to complain to the dormitory manager, but who would dare offend the Green Rain Sword? The manager just listened but never actually stopped Dong Lu.

Later, in desperation, Lu Wenxiu came to Xu Chu twice for help. But by then, Xu Chu had already seen the consequences of opposing Dong Lu. Hardening his heart, he pretended not to hear. Gradually, Lu Wenxiu stopped coming to him.He began going to the back mountain.

"Back mountain?"

Zhou Huai suddenly understood: "No wonder. Lu Wenxiu started going to the back mountain to see Yu Dongxue because he was bullied and no one stood up for him."

Xu Chu was stunned: "Yu Dongxue? You mean that outsider practicing swordsmanship on the northern mountain?"

Yang Wujian sneered: "Whether he's an outsider or not, I don't know. But it seems those who truly love the sword still maintain benevolence and righteousness, never bullying the weak despite their origin not being the World's Premier Sword Manor."

"..."

Hearing her words, Xu Chu's expression changed several times before finally becoming dejected. He hung his head and said dispiritedly: "At that time, I didn't know why he was going to the back mountain. I didn't even dare to ask. It was only when Dong Lu and his gang kept saying that Lu Wenxiu had run to the back mountain to cry to his cheap father that I learned he had met someone there who was willing to stand up for him."

Shen Qingshi pressed further: "Did you know Yu Dongxue later died? Just a few days before Dong Lu and the others disappeared?"

"What... died?"

Xu Chu was shocked: "He died? Is that why Lu Wenxiu became so despondent?"

Yang Wujian propped her chin and smiled: "You're quite observant. Since that's the case, why not tell us what other strange things happened during those days? Don't leave anything out, tell us everything in detail."

"I just remember that during that period, Dong Lu's methods of bullying Lu Wenxiu became increasingly lawless."

Xu Chu sighed. Speaking about these things after so many years actually eased his guilt somewhat.

Lu Wenxiu was bullied at night, his body was weak, and his sword practice was slow. Dong Lu would trouble him daily on the training grounds.

Originally, their conflicts had limits, but one day when the Sword-Wielding Disciple was absent, Dong Lu actually slashed a deep wound on Lu Wenxiu's arm that wouldn't stop bleeding.

As one might expect, Lu Wenxiu simply bandaged it and ran to the back mountain, not even returning for evening classes.

Perhaps because things had gone too far this time, surprisingly, Dong Lu actually took his followers to the back mountain to look for him. Later, the five of them returned to the disciples' quarters together. Seeing this, the supervising disciple only perfunctorily asked Dong Lu if he had apologized to Lu Wenxiu.

At that time, Xu Chu never expected that the always domineering Dong Lu would actually lower his head. For some reason, the thwarted Dong Lu appeared unusually excited, while Lu Wenxiu's face was full of fear.

In the following days, Dong Lu no longer troubled Lu Wenxiu on the training grounds. He even stopped punishing him with all-night wakefulness, instead often pulling Lu Wenxiu aside to talk about something.

At first, Xu Chu thought Dong Lu had finally learned some restraint after Lu Wenxiu's injury. But unexpectedly, a few days later, Lu Wenxiu returned to the disciples' quarters crying loudly. This time, even though he cried loudly, Dong Lu didn't bother him, instead appearing preoccupied.

A few more days passed, and Dong Lu with his three followers didn't return to the disciples' quarters at night.

As the mountain search began, the despondent Lu Wenxiu suddenly went mad.

The day he descended the mountain was the last time Xu Chu ever saw him. To this day, he still remembers how Lu Wenxiu's vacant gaze seemed to pierce through him, landing somewhere in the distance.

"They're all dead."

"That's what he said then. I didn't know what it meant, but over the years I've always felt that perhaps Dong Lu's disappearance was related to Lu Wenxiu."

By the end of his account, Xu Chu appeared on the verge of breaking down.All these years, he had always known that the rule of the martial world was survival of the fittest. Even though he secretly believed that Dong Lu and his followers' disappearance was retribution, he could not show it.

After all, the people of Qingyu Pavilion were far beyond his ability to provoke.

"Whenever I was on the mountain, I often thought about this matter. Eventually, I couldn't bear it anymore and came down the mountain."

Xu Chu smiled bitterly: "I used to often think that Dong Lu didn't deserve to wield a sword, nor did he deserve to inherit the name of Green Rain Sword. But when it comes down to it, how are my actions any different from his?"

"That's why they say only two kinds of people want to go up the mountain: those who don't understand the martial world, and those who can't accept their fate."

Yang Wujian laughed, his voice cold.

By now, they could almost piece together everything that had happened fifteen years ago.

Why did Lu Wenxiu poison Yu Dongxue? How was the Green Rain Sword involved in all this?

The truth was almost within reach, yet they were still missing the most crucial piece.

This time, after thinking for a long while, Yang Wujian suddenly said: "Have any of you considered what price we would pay for framing the renowned Green Rain Sword?"