Immortalis

Tong Xue Fifteen

"You've come at just the right time."

Yang Wujian had been frustrated with no one to vent her anger on. With a clang, her Golden Rings blocked the attack, causing the newcomer's hand to go numb from the impact. Yang Wujian laughed, "Let's see how many of my moves you can withstand."

"Miss Yang, don't be impulsive."

For some reason, Dong Zhu, who had always remained composed before, suddenly grew anxious. A cold gleam flashed as his Green Rain Sword left its sheath. Just as he was about to join the fray, a long sword barred his path.

It was Shen Qingshi, his expression icy.

"Senior Dong, as someone bearing guilt, it would be best not to act recklessly."

His warning clearly had little effect.

Yang Wujian was already locked in fierce combat with the waiter. Like Shen Qingshi, her moves were extremely varied, making it hard to discern which school's techniques she used. Perhaps provoked, almost every strike now aimed directly at vital points.

"Miss Yang!"

Seeing this, Dong Zhu wasted no words. He immediately launched the move "Dragon Gains Water."

This was one of the most lethal techniques in the Green Rain Sword style. Dong Zhu, being mild-mannered, rarely used it publicly. Even Shen Mian of the Fangqiong Sword, standing nearby, was greatly shocked and instinctively drew his sword to intervene. But Shen Qingshi said, "I'll handle it."

The sword energy from Dragon Gains Water was overwhelming, yet Shen Qingshi showed no fear. With a flick of his long sword, he met it head-on.

Though the two had crossed swords just days before, it was only now that spectators of that earlier duel realized neither Dong Zhu nor Shen Qingshi had exerted their full strength then.

It seemed that while Dong Zhu hadn't wanted anyone to pass the martial test that day, facing a junior in public forced him to hold back.

But the current situation was different.

The Green Rain Sword no longer restrained itself. Perhaps having gauged Shen Qingshi's capabilities that day, Dong Zhu knew this youth was troublesome. He consecutively used "Dragon Gains Water" and "Breaker of Waves," each move fiercely lethal, clearly intent on taking a life.

"Senior Brother! Don't persist in this delusion any longer!"

Shen Mian could no longer stand by. He drew his sword and intercepted the attacks meant for Shen Qingshi. He knew well that if the Green Rain Sword killed Shen Qingshi on the spot, even before their master emerged from seclusion, the other senior and junior brothers would have to enforce justice immediately.

"It seems he really values you."

Noticing the commotion, Yang Wujian smiled, using her Golden Rings to lock the waiter's sword blade. She whispered, "If you keep holding back like this, the Green Rain Sword might be besieged by the Immeasurable Seven Swords before you can even kill me."

"…"

In an instant, the waiter's previously honest face twisted fiercely. His sword twisted, forcing Yang Wujian back, then he leaped in front of the Green Rain Sword, taking a blow from the Fangqiong Sword on his behalf.

"This... is 'Long Wind Pierces Water,' a Green Rain Sword technique?"

Shen Mian's eyes widened in disbelief as the waiter, who had just been lying on the ground, executed a familiar move. The Immeasurable Seven Swords each had unique styles, with the Green Rain Sword comprising thirteen forms. Due to its high demands on internal energy and movement, no disciple in the sect had mastered the final four forms for years.

And this "Long Wind Pierces Water" was the thirteenth form.

"How is this possible..."

Shen Mian muttered in disbelief, "Not even Immeasurable disciples have reached this level. Who is this person..."

"You..."Dong Zhu knew the situation was beyond redemption. Even if he wanted to send the person away now, with all seven Immeasurable Swords present, he couldn't possibly defeat them all.

At this thought, his sword-hand dropped weakly, and he murmured, "I clearly told you never to use that move in front of outsiders."

The crowd erupted in murmurs. Yang Wujian retracted her Golden Rings, the murderous intent on her face vanishing completely.

She smiled faintly. "Senior Dong, why must you endure this hardship? You knew we might have seen through his true identity, yet you'd rather bear all the blame to protect him. Truly, you're a devoted father."

"What..."

Shen Mian stared at the young man in coarse clothing, who was breathing heavily with effort. Though his appearance was completely different, perhaps only he in this world could have mastered the Green Rain Sword technique.

"Is he..."

Shen Mian rushed forward, wanting to confirm the person's identity, but was blocked by the young man's sword.

Though unable to speak, the young man stood firmly protective before the Green Rain Sword, making it clear that anyone wanting to capture it would have to step over his corpse.

"The die is cast—this is heaven's will. Lower your sword... Haven't we committed enough wrongs over these years?" After a long pause, Dong Zhu spoke softly, pressing down on the young man's shoulder.

Over the years, he had grown considerably. Though living away from the mountain, he had never abandoned sword practice, which was why he could execute Long Wind Piercing Water so beautifully.

Had he remained within the sect, the title of Green Rain Sword might well have passed to him by now.

Dong Zhu closed his eyes in anguish, but firmly pressed down the sword blocking his path. "How did you guess his identity?"

Shen Qingshi felt only regret—because of the Fangqiong Sword's interference, he ultimately hadn't been able to properly spar with the Green Rain Sword.

Sheathing his sword calmly, he said, "We weren't certain at first. But when you summoned us up the mountain, he coincidentally disappeared to visit family graves. That's when we realized you had your sword attendants bring us here just to buy him time to escape."

"Moreover, Yu Xiahe is an expert in disguise arts. She passed this skill to her son Yu Qiao. We questioned the boy—human skin masks differ from ordinary masks. If applied using ancient methods, they can be worn continuously without removal, fitting so perfectly they can't be peeled off by hand. But speaking becomes dangerous. While nasal secretions and tears can be controlled, speech inevitably produces significant moisture. Combined with difficulty controlling facial expressions, this easily causes wrinkling around the mouth in the human skin. Therefore, unless one is accustomed to disguise, it's best to remain mute."

Looking at Dong Zhu, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, Yang Wujian felt deeply conflicted.

She had never known parents willing to sacrifice everything for her. After entering Longevity Palace, Gu Yun and Mingshan became her only family.

Precisely because of this, she could never forgive those who casually framed Longevity Palace for crimes.

Shen Mian stared blankly at the young man, everything now clear to her.

"Senior brother... You didn't commit those deeds, did you? You merely, you merely..."

The name was on the tip of her tongue, the truth about to be revealed.Yang Wujian spoke up: "Allow me to speak on behalf of our elder. In truth, you had no idea Yu Xiahe was living at the foot of the mountain, did you? She came to Westwind Town with her son, yet when we brought Yu Qiao to see you that day, you didn't recognize him at all... Come to think of it, to avoid suspicion, you couldn't possibly go down the mountain every day. Therefore, the one who knew Yu Xiahe's identity and poisoned her when Boundless Sword Manor decided to reopen the cold case must be someone else."

Shen Qingshi added: "You just claimed you disposed of the Stone Cicada back then but kept the Colorless Powder... This doesn't make sense logically. After all, the Colorless Powder was what caused Yu Dongxue's death. The reason you didn't dispose of it wasn't because you wanted to keep the medicine, but because Dong Lu had taken all the Colorless Powder you had that day. You weren't aware of this until you descended the mountain—the medicine had been with him the entire time."

At that moment, a thud echoed through the hall as a young man in coarse clothing suddenly knelt and kowtowed several times toward the Seven Swords on the platform.

Unable to speak, he could only bite his finger and write a few frantic characters in blood on the ground.

"I am Dong Lu. I committed the crime. I beg you to spare my father."

"He's really Dong Lu? He never disappeared?"

Shen Mian stumbled back a step in shock.

It was unbelievable that Dong Lu had been living right under their noses all these years.

"Lu'er, rise. I share responsibility in this matter—you needn't bear it alone. Since you've decided to confess, let me explain on your behalf."

Dong Zhu sighed and helped Dong Lu to his feet.

All his schemes had now collapsed, and his expression returned to calm as he stated plainly: "Fifteen years ago, it was indeed Dong Lu who took all the Colorless Powder... He had read my medical texts but was too young to grasp their true meaning. He thought I warned against excessive dosage because the ingredients were precious, and he refused to believe such rare treasures could produce a lethal poison. He took it all to show off."

Yang Wujian chuckled: "What a pity your son didn't inherit your temperament, Elder. He was solely fixated on learning swordsmanship and looked down upon studying medicine. That ultimately led to the tragedy."

Unperturbed by Yang Wujian's sarcasm, Dong Zhu replied quietly: "I raised him to be this way—it is indeed my fault. Back on the mountain, I rarely inquired about his affairs in the disciples' quarters, not wanting to cause trouble for the supervising disciples. Yet it was precisely because of my indulgence that he drove Lu Wenxiu to such extremes. After the incident, I found Yu Dongxue's death suspicious and initially refused to believe he was responsible. For days, I investigated whether anyone else had entered Qingyu Pavilion, but then Lu'er came to me."

The events of fifteen years ago remained vivid in his memory.

That day, when Dong Lu came to him, he was disoriented and hadn't used the main gate, instead avoiding all the disciples to seek him out directly at Qingyu Pavilion.

Dong Zhu immediately caught the scent of blood on him.

Even though Dong Lu had changed his clothes, the odor clung to his hair, hands, and sword. Thus, Dong Zhu didn't need him to speak to know that Dong Lu had killed someone.

Inside Qingyu Pavilion, Dong Lu knelt before him and confessed the truth, word by word.It turned out that on that day, Yu Dongxue had stood up for Lu Wenxiu and harshly reprimanded him along with three other disciples. Dong Lu, unable to swallow his anger, plotted to steal the Colorless Powder and force Lu Wenxiu to poison Yu Dongxue. He had initially thought it would only cause her to fall into a deep sleep for two or three days, but unexpectedly, Lu Wenxiu, overwhelmed by fear, misjudged the dosage and ended up poisoning Yu Dongxue to death.

Afterward, Dong Lu threatened Lu Wenxiu, forbidding him from revealing the truth, but he himself remained restless and uneasy.

He knew he couldn’t hide the matter of the Colorless Powder from Dong Zhu for long and had been hesitating whether to confess to her. However, before he could make up his mind, the three disciples who had always obeyed him suddenly "turned against him."

They were aware that with Dong Zhu’s backing, the Sword Manor would likely not punish Dong Lu severely, but they might not be so fortunate. Thus, the three secretly discussed reporting the incident.

After all, they had not participated in stealing the Colorless Powder or the poisoning. If they told the truth early on, they might avoid being held accountable.

Unfortunately, Dong Lu overheard their conversation. Shocked and alarmed, he lured them to the back mountain, hoping to dissuade them from doing something foolish. However, as tempers flared in their youthful arrogance, the four began to argue. The three, enraged, insisted on going to the Seven Swords. In a moment of panic, Dong Lu drew his sword...

“Dong Lu hid the three bodies in the sword cave on North Mountain and brought me to see them. The sword wounds on the corpses clearly indicated they were inflicted by a disciple from the mountain. Moreover, since the four had always been inseparable, I knew that if the bodies were discovered, Dong Lu would inevitably be held accountable... I couldn’t bear to see that happen, so I decided to make all four of them disappear. Only then would no one suspect him.”

Dong Zhu’s voice was devoid of sorrow or joy, as if she were merely stating facts calmly.

“During the days of the mountain search, he hid in Qingyu Pavilion. Because Lu’er was ‘missing,’ no one would come to the pavilion, so I hid him and the bodies there. A few days later, when the Manor Lord borrowed the Corpse Seeking Sable, I knew the bodies would eventually be found if things continued this way. So, before dawn, I had him take the dismembered remains of the three and hide in a water vat being sent down the mountain. Meanwhile, I discarded a miner’s skeleton I had dug up years ago in the place where Lu’er had previously hidden the bodies, hoping to confuse the scent.”

Recalling the past, Dong Zhu couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

“I was truly possessed. During the day, I searched the back mountain, and at night, back in Qingyu Pavilion, I rummaged through boxes and cabinets, eventually finding a human skin mask and a dose of mute-inducing poison. I knew Lu’er’s domineering nature would eventually lead to trouble, even if he went down the mountain. So, on the night before his departure, I poisoned his tea with the mute-inducing drug, rendering him completely mute...”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dong Lu already streaming with tears, and Dong Zhu closed her eyes once more.

“No matter what, at least he is still alive. That means I haven’t failed his mother. At that time, that was the only thought occupying my mind.”