Immortalis

Hero's Tomb 17

"No!"

In the bathtub, Zhou Huai jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.

The excruciating pain throughout his body had subsided, but his mind remained in chaos. The memories he had just recovered were fragmented, like shattered porcelain shards—every time he tried to piece them together, he was pierced until he bled.

Even though the Blood Cleansing Pill had only restored a portion of his memories, that portion alone was terrifying enough.

And now he finally knew: the person who appeared before him after he lost all his memories at age eight was not Zhou Jinglei at all, but Thunderclap Hand Yang Ye.

"Young master, are you alright?"

Outside the bathtub, Yang Wujian was also drenched in sweat from the ordeal, once again confirming that neither he nor Shen Qingshi could match Zhou Huai in martial prowess.

The internal energy of White Rainbow Tower was inherently fierce and powerful, and Zhou Huai had also studied many miscellaneous techniques. If he could wield them all at will, his strength would be truly formidable—perhaps even comparable to masters like those of the Immeasurable Seven Swords.

Soaked to the bone, Zhou Huai paid no mind to anything else. He climbed out of the tub, threw on his outer robe, and stumbled straight toward the room where the desiccated corpse lay.

"Father!"

Zhou Huai threw himself before the corpse. At last, he could recognize the face.

In his memory, this person was the true Zhou Jinglei.

And on that day years ago, Zhou Jinglei had already died under Thunderclap Hand's palm. Afterward, Thunderclap Hand erased his memories and assumed Zhou Jinglei's identity to live on.

"No! It can't be true... It can't be real..."

The realization that he had been acknowledging his father's murderer as his own for over a decade nearly shattered Zhou Huai completely.

No wonder he would fall ill at the sight of Zhou Jinglei, and the martial techniques he unleashed were brimming with killing intent.

It wasn't because he had been forced to practice those techniques, but because Yang Ye had personally beaten Zhou Jinglei to death right before his eyes.

In a desperate attempt to save his father, Zhou Huai had used every martial art he had learned, but he was too young and was ultimately captured by Yang Ye, forced to swallow that pill.

"Thunderclap Hand Yang Ye—his younger brother Yang Fang disappeared in the Hero's Tomb while my father was excavating White Rainbow Tower. Yang Ye came for revenge. My father originally intended to lock him in the Dragon Locking Coffin, but for some reason, the drugs lost their effect.It took Zhou Huai a long time to barely speak.

Leaning against the corner of the wall, he gazed at the corpse that had been dried for over a decade, his heart feeling as if pierced by knives.

Zhou Jinglei had indeed done wrong, but in the end, he had been willing to let go for his sake.

And those two letters left in the token were the true messages Zhou Jinglei had left for him.

After hearing the whole story, neither Shen Qingshi nor Yang Wujian could find words to speak. They didn't even know how to comfort Zhou Huai.

Why did Yang Ye go to such trouble, sparing Zhou Huai's life?

Yang Wujian couldn't understand it.

Although few had seen the real Zhou Jinglei before, giving Yang Ye the chance to seize his place, keeping Zhou Huai—the biological son—alive was like leaving a massive threat for himself.

Moreover, if Yang Ye sought revenge, why did he come so many years later? Not only that, Zhou Jinglei was meticulous—dozens of poisoned needles fired in succession. Why did Yang Ye survive after being hit?If he truly held a grudge against Zhou Jinglei, why would he spare his son and take over Zhou Jinglei's business?

Not to mention, the suicides in the Hero's Tomb didn't stop with Zhou Jinglei's death—or rather, after Zhou Jinglei, Yang Ye was actually continuing the exact same practices.

All of this pointed to the same possibility.

Suddenly, Yang Wujian gasped sharply: "It's the White-faced Guest! He realized Zhou Jinglei intended to withdraw, so he found a suitable replacement. Yang Ye held a grudge against Zhou Jinglei and wouldn't hesitate to act. Moreover, coming from a craftsman family, he could handle the mechanisms Zhou Jinglei worked with—making him the perfect candidate."

Shen Qingshi now understood as well: "If the person we saw was Yang Ye, his suicide note specifically mentioned that accident. Logically, Zhou Jinglei would never have disclosed this to anyone—even when informing relatives, he claimed it was an accidental fall from a cliff. So aside from Zhou Jinglei, only one person knew the truth and hadn't had their memory erased."

"The White-faced Guest…"

Zhou Huai's teeth-grinding was audible.

He tried to stand and chase after someone, but his leg injury hadn't healed. Staggering, he was pulled back by Yang Wujian: "Young Master, who are you planning to chase in your condition? With that injured leg, settle accounts first. Let Young Master Shen and I handle the pursuit."

"I…"

Thinking of how Yang Ye had deceived him all these years, Zhou Huai wished he could tear him to pieces.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to calm down: "As early as a year ago, he started collecting shares monthly—to gather the silver notes and control them himself. He must have been planning his escape since then."

"But if that's the case, why did those dismembered limbs appear in your room?"

Yang Wujian frowned: "Our suspicion toward Zhou Jinglei began with those limbs. If he planned to flee a year ago, did he plant them himself?"

By making Zhou Huai see the limbs, arousing suspicion about the Evil Sickness, then leading him to the suicide note and the unrecoverable body in the Hero's Tomb—making him believe Zhou Jinglei was dead—Yang Ye could smoothly escape.

Though the plan seemed seamless, Yang Wujian had a lingering feeling.

Perhaps, after all these years together, Yang Ye still held some affection for Zhou Huai.

After all, if executed perfectly, Zhou Huai would never have realized Zhou Jinglei had been replaced. At most, he'd think his father was evil—not that he'd died over a decade ago.

So, was dosing Zhou Huai with sleeping medicine at night to prevent the timid young master from stumbling upon those corpses alone?

And before leaving, Yang Ye specifically met him and Shen Qingshi—perhaps fearing they'd detect flaws, he didn't show himself directly, only using his shadow to ask them to take care of Zhou Huai later.

As unbelievable as it seemed, this was the only explanation that made sense.

Yang Ye truly regarded Zhou Huai as his own son.Yang Wujian looked at the nearly collapsed Young Master Zhou with a bitter inner smile, thinking that overthinking many things was indeed useless. Zhou Huai had a kind heart, and letting him know about Yang Ye's deeds would only cause him more pain.

Thus, Yang Wujian ultimately said nothing and merely stated, "Young Master, tend to your account books. I'll go to Green Bamboo Town to gather some information first. Yang Ye is, after all, a living person—he couldn't have gone far in just two days. Young Master Shen can also seek help through the authorities. Leave these matters to us; don't do anything foolish. To avenge your father, you must not act impulsively anymore."

After repeatedly ensuring that Zhou Huai could stay alone, Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi set off together for Green Bamboo Town.

Now that they were alone, Yang Wujian couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "The corpse's location must have been carefully chosen by Yang Ye—inaccessible and hard to see clearly. With his ability to deliver objects from a distance, he could have used a mechanism to transport it there. But how did you retrieve the corpse? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Would you have let me go if I had told you?"

Beside him, Shen Qingshi's tone was calm, as if she were in no hurry to find anyone.

However, Yang Wujian had already realized that the hook-like wounds on the corpse were not from ordinary weapons—rare in the martial world—and could only have come from the palace.

Was the palace also investigating Zhou Jinglei?

Yang Wujian frowned suspiciously, but then he heard Shen Qingshi say lightly, "Don't worry, they've already left."

"What?"

"Those who helped me—you've already guessed it, haven't you? I didn't retrieve the corpse alone; someone assisted me, but they've departed."

"You..."

Yang Wujian hadn't expected her to suddenly come clean. "Why tell me now?"

Shen Qingshi merely glanced at him calmly. "Because you're doubting me. I haven't done anything to betray you or Zhou Huai, but like you, I have secrets. I can't reveal more, but I don't want you to suspect me, so I'm sharing what I can."

This response startled Yang Wujian so much that his eyes widened, and he nearly reached out to check Shen Qingshi's pulse to see if she had a fever.

"Suddenly so compassionate?" Yang Wujian said incredulously. "I didn't realize the Blood Cleansing Pill had such an effect."

"I just need you to know that, no matter what, I won't harm you or Zhou Huai. As for Yang Ye, I'll find a way—there will be results soon."

As Shen Qingshi spoke these words, she thought to herself that if Yang Ye hadn't run fast enough, he would likely be caught by tonight.

After all, everything they had just discussed had been overheard by the three Zhaoming envoys hidden in the building. The trio came and went without a sound and were probably already in pursuit.

"You say this person checked in last night but hasn't shown his face all day?"

Just as Shen Qingshi had anticipated, within less than an hour, Cao Zhao, Fu Hong, and Shen Xin had tracked down an inn not far from Green Bamboo Town.

The three were top-notch experts from the palace, moving with exceptional speed. Moreover, the Zhaoming Division had handled countless such captures in the past—catching a fugitive from the martial world was like a warm-up exercise for them.

According to the innkeeper, not long ago, a person wearing a bamboo hat and fully concealed had checked in, spending lavishly without even cutting the silver, and took their best room.Perhaps sensing the trio's unusual origins, the innkeeper, fearing he might be implicated, added, "Just yesterday, seeing how generously he spent, I even warned him that there are bandits roaming the mountains lately and advised him to be careful. I never expected he'd be so frightened he wouldn't even leave his room."

"Frightened? I doubt he ever imagined his feigned death would be exposed so quickly."

Fu Hong had always looked down on these common folk. With a flick of his fishing hook, he vanished through the doorway.

Shen Xin's ears twitched slightly, and he immediately discerned that among the three upper-class rooms upstairs, one housed a woman, another a married couple, and the third—aside from the sound of wind—was utterly silent.

"He might have already fled."

Recalling the footsteps he'd heard outside the Dragon Locking Coffin—not a limp, so it was likely Yang Ye—Shen Xin smirked coldly and vaulted up to the second floor.

However, as Shen Xin kicked the door open, all he saw was the room's window wide open, blood splattered across the floor, and Yang Ye lying stabbed multiple times. His belongings had been looted clean, leaving only a scattering of worthless copper coins strewn about.

Fu Hong and Cao Zhao, who had followed closely behind, couldn't help but pale.

Yang Ye had been robbed.