Immortalis

Tong Xue Six

"Young Master, do you really have a way to find Yu Xiahe?"

Back at the inn, watching Zhou Huai release the carrier pigeon from his hand, Yang Wujian felt increasingly convinced that coaxing this young master into investigating the case together had been remarkably foresighted.

Playing with the golden rings beneath her wide sleeves, she had recalled everything now.

Yu Chaolin died at the Hero's Tomb, and the White Rainbow Tower happened to be built in Green Bamboo Town right beside the Hero's Tomb.

It was rumored throughout the martial world that the reason Zhou Jinglei, master of White Rainbow Tower, had amassed great wealth over the years was not only because he excelled at Mechanical Arts mechanisms, but also because he used White Rainbow Tower as the focal point of a feng shui formation, borrowing the local fortune.

And precisely because of this, so many martial heroes had inexplicably gone to the Hero's Tomb to commit suicide, turning it into an outright cursed ground.

As the saying goes: what goes around in the martial world eventually comes around.

Martial world gossip claimed that Zhou Jinglei's actions had severely damaged his accumulated virtue. Therefore, although his only son Zhou Huai had shown extraordinary martial talent since childhood, he suddenly fell gravely ill at age eight. After waking up, not only had he lost all memories before eight, but he also frequently suffered from Evil Sickness, displaying peerless martial techniques he had never learned.

Those who had witnessed Zhou Huai's episodes said those moves belonged to people who had long been dead in the Hero's Tomb.

In other words, Zhou Huai's Evil Sickness was genuine ghost possession, which was why he had to carry a large number of exorcism charms every day.

No wonder he could immediately recall matters about the Huai River Yu Clan.

Resting her chin in her hand, Yang Wujian looked at Zhou Huai's handsome face full of solemnity and couldn't help laughing: "Young Master Zhou, why aren't you boasting anymore? Could it be you haven't slept enough and your brain's stuck?"

"Just eat your peanuts."

Watching the pigeon fly into the distance, Zhou Huai rolled his eyes.

He really hadn't slept enough, but seeing how energetic both Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi were, he didn't want to show weakness and could only force himself to continue investigating here.

Zhou Huai said: "White Rainbow Tower has banks everywhere with interconnected intelligence networks. If there's news about the Yu family descendants, we'll get a response soon."

"It seems your father hasn't been idle despite rarely appearing these years, collecting many martial world tidbits?"

Yang Wujian wasn't surprised by this.

Zhou Jinglei was a merchant, and for merchants, intelligence was as valuable as gold.

Hearing this, Zhou Huai preened like a peacock again: "Naturally, our White Rainbow Tower's money doesn't come from thin air. My father may lack martial prowess, but his mind is quite sharp."

"From this perspective, Yu Xiahe killing the entire Lu family was most likely for her brother... When the sword servant disappeared fifteen years ago, perhaps Yu Dongxue was on the mountain too, and he also knew something."

Shen Qingshi had no interest in these martial world anecdotes - he only cared about Longevity Palace. After some thought, he added: "But Green Rain Sword didn't mention this person to us. If things have reached the point where Yu Xiahe would kill the entire Lu family..."

He didn't finish, but Yang Wujian already understood his meaning. Pouring a cup of tea and handing it over, she said: "Young Master Shen, have you considered why Green Rain Sword came down to spar with you that day?"

After pondering briefly, Shen Qingshi quickly reached a conclusion: "He didn't want me to pass the martial exam?"Yang Wujian let out a long sigh. "Who knows? Perhaps both Zhou Huai and I are well-known figures in the martial world—one the sole heir of White Rainbow Tower, the other a descendant of the Crescent Moon Blade. But you, young man, have no known background. That means he doesn’t know your origins... Sending someone with an unknown background to investigate matters meant to stay hidden is extremely dangerous."

After chatting for a while, Shen Qingshi eventually drank the tea Yang Wujian had poured. After all, Zhou Huai had already consumed most of the pot earlier and was not only alive but also quite talkative.

An hour later, the messenger pigeon from White Rainbow Tower returned.

Zhou Huai eagerly retrieved the secret letter, but as he read the line of small characters, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait... This says that the Yu family changed their appearance and surname over the years and lived in West Wind Town, but a few days ago, they died of illness?"

"What?"

Yang Wujian snatched the note from his hand, his eyes equally wide. "Died of illness? How many people in this town have died of illness in the past few days? It couldn’t... be that pancake seller, could it? How did White Rainbow Tower find out about this?"

Only then did Zhou Huai remember the pancakes he hadn’t managed to buy that morning.

He usually slept until late in the day and had no idea someone had gone missing from the streets. He said, "White Rainbow Tower has its ways. After all, my father’s business interests are vast, though he rarely shares much with me."

Shen Qingshi paid no attention to any of this. Grabbing his sword, he left and quickly learned from the innkeeper that the deceased pancake seller woman lived in the western part of town.

In West Wind Town, she was known only as a widow with a son. Now, with nowhere to go, the neighbors were discussing sending the boy to Boundless Sword Manor to become a sword attendant.

"Boundless Sword Manor is that generous? They’ll just take him in like that?"

Yang Wujian recalled the hypocrites on the mountain and found it hard to believe they were all so benevolent. He chuckled, "Do they often come down the mountain for pancakes?"

Hearing this, the innkeeper shook his head repeatedly. "Young lady, you don’t understand. Dong Zhu, one of the Immeasurable Seven Swords, often sends his disciples down to look after us. He’s widely known for his kindness. If he encounters a child from a poor family struggling to survive, he’ll assess their aptitude. If they can learn the sword, he takes them up the mountain as a sword attendant. If not, he finds them a good place to go. In fact, the young waiter in our inn was brought by Dong Zhu. They say he was an orphaned mute, pitiable, but diligent and clever, so he’s been working here ever since."

The innkeeper spoke of Dong Zhu with deep admiration and even called the waiter over to meet them. It was said that, to this day, out of gratitude for Dong Zhu’s kindness, the waiter often went up the mountain to deliver wine and food.

Putting on quite the act, Yang Wujian thought coldly, reflecting on how many hypocrites there were in the martial world. Dong Zhu had sent them to investigate but deliberately withheld crucial information—clearly, he was up to something.

She asked, "Has the boy been sent up the mountain yet?"

The innkeeper shook his head. "It seems something big has happened on the mountain these past few days. They haven’t had time for the child. They say he’s still at home, keeping vigil for his mother."

The three immediately headed for the western part of town.

After hours of nonstop activity and having consumed some wine and food, Zhou Huai was utterly exhausted by the time they arrived. So much so that when he pushed the door open, he nearly collided with the coffin placed in the center of the dilapidated courtyard.

"What are you doing here?"In the blink of an eye, as a childish angry shout came from inside the house, Shen Qingshi grabbed Zhou Huai by the collar and pulled him back, just in time to avoid the two Flying Daggers aimed straight at his face.

"The Yu family truly are experts at ambushes!"

Yang Wujian leaped forward, intending to drag the person out from inside, but instead collided head-on with a young child who hadn't even fully grown yet, thrusting a finger toward her. The attack was blocked by Yang Wujian's Golden Rings, producing a sharp clang that set one's teeth on edge.

"Ouch!"

How could the child withstand Yang Wujian's strength? He fell to the ground and burst into tears. Yang Wujian was both angry and amused: "You little brat, you weren't crying when you threw Flying Daggers at me!"

"It's you... you who crashed into my mother's coffin first!"

The child looked no more than seven or eight years old. Though his moves were executed with some skill, his words immediately gave him away.

Yang Wujian sighed helplessly, lifted him from the ground, and warned, "Let's get this straight—if you throw any more hidden weapons at us, I'll break your hands immediately!"

"It's all your fault!"

The child refused to reason with her and simply cried incessantly. Yang Wujian felt a headache coming on. Knowing she couldn't rely on Shen Qingshi for help, she called out to Zhou Huai: "Young master, do you have anything to trick a child with—"

Before she could finish, Yang Wujian noticed something was wrong with Zhou Huai.

Earlier, Shen Qingshi had pulled him back in a moment of urgency. Martial artists typically have a solid stance and don't fall so easily, but for some reason, Zhou Huai had been pulled straight to the ground and hadn't gotten up since.

"Young master?"

Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi exchanged a glance. They could no longer focus on pacifying the child and slowly approached Zhou Huai, who was hanging his head low. "Young master, one child throwing a tantrum is enough. If you start crying and making a scene, I won't know what to do."

As the two approached Zhou Huai, intending to help him up, they suddenly heard him let out a low chuckle.

At this, even the child stopped crying.

After all, if Zhou Huai had laughed like a normal man, it would have been fine. But the sound that came from his throat was like the tinkling bell-like laughter of a charming woman.

"Oh no, he's having an episode."

Yang Wujian immediately realized that this pampered young master had likely never worked so hard on a case day and night before. The physical exhaustion, combined with the earlier fright, had triggered the Evil Sickness he'd had since childhood.

"Get up."

Shen Qingshi, who had never heard the rumors circulating in the martial world, didn't believe in such superstitions. He grabbed Zhou Huai by the shoulder, intending to lift him up, but in an instant, Zhou Huai's previously high-pitched voice dropped to a deep, masculine tone: "Get away!"

With that, he crouched low. His footwork was no longer the White Rainbow Swordplay he had used in the sword competition arena but a completely different style Yang Wujian had never seen before—bizarre and unpredictable. In a single step, he closed in behind Shen Qingshi and, with a surge of energy, thrust a finger toward the Yamen acupoint at the back of his head.

"Cotton Needle Finger!"

The child screamed in shock, knowing that if this sneak attack succeeded, the target would die instantly. However, Shen Qingshi was no ordinary man. As fast as Zhou Huai moved, Shen Qingshi was just as quick. With a backhanded palm, he deflected the sharp finger technique, and without a moment's hesitation, his sword left its sheath in an instant, its blade slicing straight toward Zhou Huai.

"What are you doing!"With a clang, Shen Qingshi's sword struck the pure gold paired rings. Yang Wujian rolled her eyes, thinking how fortunate it was that she had trained well in lightness skills—otherwise, if Shen Qingshi had actually managed to seriously injure or kill the young master Zhou, forget about investigating the case, the White Rainbow Tower would probably come for their heads the very next day.

"He's having an episode right now, and you actually want to kill him?"

With just one glance, Yang Wujian knew Shen Qingshi was serious. Though his face showed no killing intent, his sword never lied.

Shen Qingshi said coldly, "He tried to kill me—why shouldn't I kill him back?"

Yang Wujian nearly laughed in exasperation, thinking these Zhaoming Division people were truly too accustomed to throwing their weight around in court, ignorant of the complexities of the martial world, talking about killing a young master of the White Rainbow Tower as if it were as simple as slaughtering a chicken.

She pushed aside Shen Qingshi's sword blade and said irritably, "Killing him would bring us both immense trouble, Young Master Shen. Didn’t you hear him say it? The White Rainbow Tower has eyes everywhere—for all we know, even the vegetable seller outside could be one of Zhou Jinglei’s people. If you kill someone here, do you really think you could make it even a mile away?"

Seeing Shen Qingshi’s expression remain icy, Yang Wujian couldn’t be bothered to argue further. She turned and patted Zhou Huai’s dazed face: "Young master? Hey, wake up! Do you have any idea you almost killed someone just now?"

Zhou Huai didn’t speak. After executing that half-baked move earlier, he had stood there as if his soul had left his body, completely motionless. Yang Wujian thought for a moment, then rummaged through his clothes until she found the medicine bottle he had taken from earlier. She shook out a single green pill and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Young Master Zhou!"

She called out again, and this time Zhou Huai finally responded, slowly blinking his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Yang Wujian shook the medicine bottle, watching as Zhou Huai’s eyes gradually focused. "That Cotton Needle Finger technique of yours nearly put a hole in Young Hero Shen’s head. Hurry up and apologize!"

"Huh?"

Zhou Huai’s mind was a muddled mess, thinking he must still be in the middle of an afternoon nap. Before he could grasp the situation, the little child from earlier suddenly wobbled over, plopped down on his knees in front of Zhou Huai, and threw his arms around Zhou Huai’s pant leg, bursting into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.

"Mother! You’ve finally come back to see me!"