Immortalis

Tong Xue Sixteen

What happened afterward was something Yang Wujian, Shen Qingshi, and Zhou Huai had mostly pieced together.

After Dong Lu descended the mountain, he disposed of the three bodies, then donned a human skin mask and hid for a while. Eventually, Dong Zhu used the pretext of searching for traces of Longevity Palace to go down the mountain and placed him in an inn as an orphan, working as a waiter.

Originally, Dong Zhu could have sent him farther away to hide, which would have been safer. But just like Yu Xiahe, who ultimately never left Westwind Town, Dong Lu was determined to stay in the town.

He only wanted to stay close to his past.

Overnight, he was no longer the son of the Green Rain Sword, nor was he even a member of Boundless Sword Manor anymore.

To avoid suspicion, he couldn’t often see his father down the mountain. Thus, the only thing that remained by his side was his sword.

He would practice swordplay on lonely nights until he collapsed from exhaustion.

Of course, Dong Lu was unwilling. He was innately talented and clever—had he stayed on the mountain, he surely would have mastered the final stance of the Green Rain Sword Art, inherited his father’s title, and become one of the new Seven Swords.

But it was precisely he who had personally destroyed all of that.

There were countless nights when Dong Lu felt regret.

Until the very end, he had never fully confessed to his father: that day, he wasn’t entirely unaware that the Colorless Powder was poisonous.

Dong Lu was very intelligent; he had already guessed the reason why the medicine shouldn’t be taken in excess. So, he didn’t give all the Colorless Powder to Lu Wenxiu—only a portion, what he thought was the appropriate dose.

However, Dong Lu had never studied medicine. At that moment that decided his fate, the medical knowledge he had always looked down upon became the straw that broke him.

The dose he gave was too large, and Yu Dongxue still died.

In the days that followed, Dong Lu realized in fear and unease that if he told his father he had known the danger, his father might never forgive him.

So, until the very end, he kept the remaining Colorless Powder hidden on his person and brought it down the mountain with him.

For the next fifteen years, the Colorless Powder stayed with him. Dong Lu had looked at that pile of white powder countless times, thinking about destroying the thing that had ruined his life. But when it came down to it, he never did.

After all, although his father couldn’t resist his pleas and would secretly teach him sword techniques when he went up the mountain to deliver wine and food, he could no longer openly use that sword art in front of others for the rest of his life.

What if someone investigated him in the future?

Dong Lu thought, since he couldn’t use the sword, he could only use poison. Only a handful of people in the world knew the toxicity of Colorless Powder, and someday, it might still prove useful.

At the time, Dong Lu never imagined that he would soon encounter someone down the mountain deeply connected to his past.

Unable to speak, Dong Lu took paper and brush and wrote down Yu Xiahe’s name.

At first, he actually didn’t want to kill her.

Yu Xiahe looked so much like Yu Dongxue that the first time he ran an errand for the innkeeper to buy pancakes, he recognized her.

It was the very face that appeared in his nightmares every night.

After that day, Dong Lu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He often went to the area near Yu Xiahe’s home and discovered that Yu Xiahe didn’t seem to be there for revenge. Instead, she was living a very peaceful life in Westwind Town. Besides making and selling pancakes, she occasionally taught her son some self-defense techniques late at night.It seemed she had already let go, or perhaps she never truly knew how her brother had died.

For eight years, Dong Lu often dreamed of Yu Xiahe killing him. In these dreams, he never resisted, thinking that if the rest of his life would be like this, it would be better to die under Yu Xiahe's Flying Dagger.

Yet, whenever he woke, he would remember his father...

Dong Zhu had gone to great lengths to send him down the mountain, all to ensure he lived well. Even to give him something to hold onto, Dong Zhu had passed on the sword technique he had previously been unwilling to teach.

Though knowing his son could never wield a sword in public again, perhaps driven by the same unwillingness to accept fate, his father had still imparted the complete Green Rain Sword technique to him.

He could not betray his father, and so, he had to bear this burden of guilt and live on.

Thus, several more years passed. One day, when he went up the mountain, Dong Zhu worriedly told him that the manor lord had been acting strangely lately, wanting to reorganize the Old Four Seas Alliance and bring Longevity Palace back into the light.

As one might expect, Longevity Palace had remained elusive for years. Investigating it would inevitably lead back to the events of fifteen years ago, and old wounds would likely be reopened.

When Dong Lu first heard this news, he actually felt a sense of relief.

He had lived in constant fear for too long, unable to even practice swordplay openly. This life of hiding like a rat in the shadows had long since worn him down, and he yearned for an end to it all.

But looking at his father’s face, which had aged considerably over the years, Dong Lu sobered up.

Dong Zhu had deceived the martial world for years to protect him. If Dong Lu were caught and the truth of that day came to light, the reputation of the Green Rain Sword would surely be ruined.

No.

Dong Lu resolved that, no matter what, he could not let his father’s efforts go to waste.

After much hesitation, Dong Lu finally went to Yu Xiahe’s home, bringing the Colorless Powder with him.

There was only enough of the remaining medicine for two more uses.

He had also considered sending Yu Qiao away, for he himself had been young when he left the mountain, and he understood all too well the terror of losing one’s closest kin overnight.

But standing outside Yu Xiahe’s home, hearing the cheerful laughter of the child inside, he ultimately softened.

Yu Xiahe might not even know the truth of what happened back then. Killing her would be unjust, and how could an innocent child be guilty?

Dong Lu spared Yu Qiao. A few days later, he heard at an inn that the pancake seller, Yu Niang, in the west of the town had died of a fever. That night, the pale-faced Yu Dongxue and Yu Xiahe stood by his bedside, watching him the entire night.

Deep down, Dong Lu knew he could no longer keep this hidden.

Among the three investigators was the young master of White Rainbow Tower. As Dong Lu served them tea, he thought countless times about pouring the last of the Colorless Powder into their cups.

But they had already gone up the mountain and pledged before the entire martial world to investigate this old case. If they died, the matter would only escalate.

Moreover, the remaining Colorless Powder might not be enough to take another life.

In his anxiety, Dong Lu destroyed the last traces of the Colorless Powder. Knowing his father wanted him to leave, he took a leave of absence while the three went up the mountain and departed Westwind Town.

But before he had gone far, he heard the news that the three intended to send Dong Zhu to the authorities.

The day had finally come.

Without a second thought, Dong Lu immediately turned his horse around.Fifteen years ago, his father had saved his life, and now it was time for him to repay that debt.

After writing the final stroke of the blood letter, Dong Lu stood up, knelt before Dong Zhu once more, and kowtowed heavily three times.

He was now dizzy, feverish all over, and his strength seemed completely drained—likely the effects of the Colorless Powder he had taken earlier.

Everything had begun with that Colorless Powder, and now, let it be the thing that sends him off.

Dong Lu held no hope that Yang Wujian would actually perform "Blood Washing" on him. He had seen the ferocity in her earlier moves, and even if she truly possessed the Blood Cleansing Pill, she would likely humiliate him and his father thoroughly before giving it.

Perhaps it was better to end it this way.

As Dong Lu relaxed his resolve, his entire body went limp and collapsed. Dong Zhu, seeing this, hurriedly caught him and checked his internal energy.

But soon, his expression froze.

He understood the Stone Cicada better than his junior brother, so Dong Zhu almost immediately realized that although Dong Lu’s skin was burning hot and his internal energy was in complete disarray, Colorless Powder only drained one’s vitality—it wouldn’t cause illness this quickly...

Dong Zhu abruptly looked up at Yang Wujian, only to see her laughing triumphantly and shrugging. "The medicine pavilion is, after all, Fangqiong Sword’s territory—how could it be so easy to access? Things happened so suddenly, and I guessed you wouldn’t go to the medicine pavilion to verify it. So, I just gave him some common aphrodisiac from the streets. What do you think? At first, it seemed quite convincing, didn’t it?"

"Miss Yang, you..."

Fangqiong Sword Shen Mian, a practitioner of the healing arts, never expected to be deceived for so long. Furious and speechless, he saw that Dong Lu had already fallen unconscious and quickly ordered two disciples to take him indoors and administer some calming, heat-clearing medicine.

This matter was of great importance—they still needed the manor lord to make the final decision. Until then, neither Dong Lu nor Dong Zhu could be allowed to die.

"Senior Shen, there’s no need to be too angry. We chose to stage this act tonight precisely to catch everyone off guard. Everyone had just woken up, and with your own fellow disciples involved, even the Seven Swords can be deceived sometimes."

With everything settled, Yang Wujian yawned as if she hadn’t just caused an uproar in Boundless Sword Manor.

She added, "After all, we still want to join the Four Seas Alliance and don’t wish to make things too difficult for everyone. Now that the truth is out, we’ll leave the rest to Boundless Sword Manor to handle... It’s just a pity that Longevity Palace remains elusive. It seems we’ll have to search elsewhere for clues."

With that, Yang Wujian stretched and walked away, leaving everyone behind.

Seeing this, Shen Qingshi followed her without a word. Finally, Zhou Huai, noticing the Seven Swords’ grim expressions, hurriedly took Yu Qiao and caught up, whispering, "Don’t leave me behind! I risked my life to help you investigate this case."

"Young master, you don’t actually think that just because we’ve fallen out with the Seven Swords, they’ll cut off business with your father, do you?"

Walking along a quiet path, the clamor behind them grew faint, but none of the four looked back.

Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi weren’t interested, while Zhou Huai didn’t dare—and didn’t want Yu Qiao to hear.

With his status, stirring up such chaos in Boundless Sword Manor during the investigation—no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t face Zhou Jinglei.Yang Wujian laughed, "All the hustle and bustle under heaven is for profit, all the coming and going in the world is for gain. Do you really think those sword cultivators of Boundless Sword Manor survive on dew alone? Just look at their sword repositories—each built more extravagantly than the last, all piled high with silver. How could they avoid dealings with your father? Besides, after all this commotion, only Fangqiong Sword stepped forward to speak up for her senior brother. Green Rain Sword has enjoyed the old manor lord's favor these years, basking in the spotlight—do you truly believe the Seven Swords all share such camaraderie? Young Master Zhou, for someone raised in the jianghu, you still don’t realize that these renowned orthodox sects are all talk. How many among them are truly loyal and righteous?"

By the end, her laughter had turned icy, and Shen Qingshi silently lifted his gaze, watching Yang Wujian’s retreating figure.

As a member of the Zhaoming Guard, skilled in navigating official circles and reading subtle cues, Shen Qingshi had long noticed that whenever the topic of renowned orthodox sects arose, Yang Wujian would harbor an inexplicable resentment.

Why was that?

He narrowed his eyes, and in an instant, a suspicion formed.

Could it be… because she and they were never truly kindred spirits?