Chapter 38
There was no coffin in the mourning hall, only an altar table with offerings and an incense burner. On both sides of the hall were various paper offerings: golden boys and jade girls, treasure basins and money trees, mountains of gold and silver…
It was the first time Xie Qingzheng had seen these paper figures. She couldn’t help but look a few more times, but the longer she looked, the stranger she felt, as if the paper figures would come to life.
Tianquan Manor’s attire favored green. At this moment, men and women, old and young, were all wearing white mourning clothes.
Xie Qingzheng looked at her master in her white robe with red patterns and thought that it matched the pale white of the mourning hall quite well.
Mu Qingdai was still in a green robe. She offered her condolences and stood before the spirit tablet with Mo Jiangxue, bowing in respect.
A large crowd of people knelt in the mourning hall, burning paper money. Xie Qingzheng’s gaze swept over them, and she only recognized two people: Feng Lan and Qing Luo.
The two of them had eyes so red and swollen they were unrecognizable. They looked dejected, completely different from the high-spirited appearance they had when they had split open the sedan chair to save her.
Xie Qingzheng sighed softly.
Manor Lord Yun Yi had a good reputation and was respected by the righteous path. The cultivators standing in the mourning hall, paying their respects, all had expressions of regret and sorrow.
The mourning hall had a gloomy, yin qi that clashed with the spiritual energy of the orthodox Xuanmen cultivators. After they had offered their respects, they were led to the inner hall for a meal.
The people of the manor led the way, and the group from the Xuanji Sect followed behind Mo Jiangxue and Mu Qingdai.
As they were walking, a young master holding a peach wood sword, about ten years old, came running from around the corner, shouting in a cracking voice, “Kill! Kill! Kill! This Manor Lord will kill all the evil demons in the world!”
He carelessly bumped into Mu Qingdai.
Mu Qingdai slightly raised a finger. Before the young master could get close, his whole body flew backward and he fell to the ground with a thud.
He sat on the ground in a daze for a while, then started crying and shouting, “Daddy! Mommy! Someone is bullying Tang’er!”
The corner of Mu Qingdai’s mouth twitched. She asked in a cold voice, “Is he a fool?”
The people of Tianquan Manor quickly came forward to help the young master up. While comforting him, they said apologetically to Mu Qingdai, “Peak Master Mu, he is not a fool. He is our manor’s young manor lord, Young Master Yun Tang…”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was surprised.
Mo Jiangxue raised an eyebrow slightly and voiced everyone’s doubts, “I remember that Manor Lord Yun had no children. When did he get a young manor lord?”
Mu Qingdai was merciless and said mockingly, “He is, after all, a child of a noble family. How can he be so ill-mannered?”
Mu Zifu’s expression was also quite disdainful.
Xie Qingzheng glanced at Mu Zifu, her eyes on her nose, her nose on her heart, thinking: When you were ten, you weren’t much better than him, were you?
Yun He and his wife, who were in charge of the mourning hall, heard the commotion and hurried over. They apologized to Mu Qingdai, then took the young master’s hand, comforted him gently, and told him to go and play elsewhere and not to disturb the distinguished guests.
It turned out he was the son of Yun He and his wife, that is, Manor Lord Yun Yi’s nephew.
Mu Qingdai had heard that Yun He and his wife had had a son in their old age and doted on him excessively, granting his every wish. Even when he made a mistake, they couldn’t bear to hit or scold him, thus spoiling him into an exceptionally unruly child.
He was the “young manor lord,” so the successor to Tianquan Manor would be the Yun He before them?
Mu Qingdai pondered for a moment and said, “Senior Yun He, for the sake of our old friendship, a word of advice. If he is to be an idle rich young master, then so be it. But if the entire manor is handed over to him, be careful that the foundation of Tianquan Manor, built over hundreds of years, is not lost.”
Her intention was to give a sincere warning, but she was used to being arrogant, and the words that came out of her mouth were like a knife, straight and sharp.
Yun He and his wife’s faces immediately turned cold. They said, one after another, “Peak Master Mu, my Tang’er just didn’t see you and accidentally ran into you. He didn’t even really hit you. You’re making too big a deal of it!”
“He’s still a child. Even if there’s something wrong with him, it’s not for you, an outsider, Peak Master Mu, to discipline him.”
Mo Jiangxue felt that these words sounded a little familiar. She couldn’t help but remember that in the past, when Mu Zifu was being disciplined by her on Ethereal Peak, Mu Qingdai had also sneered at her for being a busybody, for disciplining someone else’s child.
Now, she crossed her arms, stood to the side, and watched the show with interest, not interrupting.
Mu Qingdai’s eyes were sinister. Just as she was about to lash out, Yun Tang, with his parents backing him up, stopped crying, spat, and spat out a mouthful of saliva.
Mu Qingdai raised her hand and gently slapped out with her palm. The fierce gust of wind from her palm sent the saliva flying towards her back to Yun Tang’s cheek. She said coldly, “Senior Yun He, your child is indeed in need of discipline.”
Seeing this, Mu Zifu took a step forward, stood in front of her sister, and pointed at Yun Tang’s nose, cursing, “What kind of little trash are you! Has your upbringing been eaten by a dog!”
With that, she raised her hand to slap him hard.
Yun He and his wife quickly protected the wailing Yun Tang behind them. The couple knew they were in the wrong and did not make a move, only kept saying, “He’s still a child!”
“You are all adults. Why be so petty?”
“We’ve been friends for so many years. Why make it so ugly?”
The people from the other sects, fearing that a conflict between the two families would not look good, all spoke up to mediate, “Forget it, forget it. Don’t be petty with a junior.”
“For the sake of the late Manor Lord Yun, let’s not argue anymore.”
Mu Qingdai closed her eyes. Thinking of the deceased in the mourning hall, she temporarily suppressed her anger. When she opened her eyes again, her expression was one of arrogance and mockery. She snorted coldly and left.
The cultivators had various expressions and continued to walk towards the inner hall. The regret and sorrow they had felt in the mourning hall had all turned into worry that “Tianquan Manor has no successor.”
Among the guests, there were many who disliked socializing. The people of the manor had also arranged for various guest rooms for people to rest alone and had sent over various fruits and snacks.
Xie Qingzheng followed Mo Jiangxue to a guest room to rest.
The people of Tianquan Manor had arranged for them two adjacent rooms.
Xie Qingzheng thought to herself: Actually, one room would have been fine…
She wished she could spend more time with her master.
But she was too embarrassed to say this, so she dawdled and dawdled, and dawdled into Mo Jiangxue’s guest room, saying sweetly, “Disciple will be by your side, at your beck and call at all times.”
Mo Jiangxue untied the long qin from her back, shot her a look, and said coolly, “Stop with the sweet talk.”
But she didn’t chase her away.
Xie Qingzheng smelled the fresh scent of lotus leaves, pushed open the window, and saw a lotus pond outside.
The pond was full of lush green lotus leaves, layered upon each other, spreading out like pieces of jade plates, swaying on the green waves.
Tianquan Manor used the lotus flower as its family emblem, and the manor was planted with green lotuses. At this time of year, the lotus flowers had not yet bloomed, only the endless green of the lotus leaves.
Xie Qingzheng looked at the clusters of deep green before her and asked Mo Jiangxue, “Master, why is there no coffin for Manor Lord Yun in the mourning hall?”
She had wanted to go up and see what Manor Lord Yun looked like.
Mo Jiangxue said, “It is the Yun family’s custom that after the head of the family dies, the body is thrown into the sword furnace and cremated with their personal saber or sword, and buried in the saber and sword mound.”
Therefore, in the mourning hall, there was no coffin, only a spirit tablet.
Xie Qingzheng: “I see. But if the body is gone, then whether Manor Lord Yun died of illness or was murdered, isn’t it all up to the people of the manor to say?”
Mo Jiangxue said, “I’ll try tonight and see if I can summon Yun Yi’s soul.”
Summoning souls was a basic skill for cultivators of the Xuanmen, but in order to prevent their souls from being summoned after death, either to say something they shouldn’t, or to have their souls controlled, cultivators would often cast a soul-protecting spell on themselves before they died.
Therefore, it was easy for a cultivator to summon the soul of an ordinary person, but difficult to summon the soul of a cultivator. And the higher a person’s cultivation was in life, the harder it was for their soul to be controlled by a soul-summoning spell after death.
Xie Qingzheng: “How about this, Master? You rest in the guest room, and I’ll change my clothes and go and gather some information in the manor.”
Her master was famous in the cultivation world, and people would recognize her wherever she went. But she was a newcomer, and few people knew her, so she was the most suitable to gather information.
Xie Qingzheng changed out of her Xuanji Sect’s uniform, put on the white dress again, and wore a black veiled hat.
The Shenshang Sword and the Yanyu Xiao were from Tianquan Manor, and everyone in the manor recognized them. She didn’t dare to take them out. She just casually took a folding fan and wandered around the manor.
As she was wandering, she smelled the fragrance of food. Following the fragrance, she found a large hall where guests were dining.
Xie Qingzheng casually glanced around and saw that almost all the guests here were rogue cultivators with no name or sect.
Perhaps she could also hear some news here, just like in the teahouse. Xie Qingzheng immediately found a seat, and a handyman from the manor poured her some wine.
She didn’t dare to drink much and only took a shallow sip.
As she was eating and drinking, a young master walked in from outside the hall, kicked a handyman from the manor, and said in a harsh and arrogant voice, “I’m going to eat here! What’s it to you? Get out of my way! The whole manor is my territory. I’ll go wherever I want!”
Hearing that familiar cracking voice, Xie Qingzheng’s appetite immediately vanished.
Wasn’t this the unreasonable “young manor lord” Yun Tang from just now?
His parents had spoiled him, and he had developed a detestable personality, even more annoying than Mu Zifu.
Yun Tang barged in, casually picked a seat, and sat down. Many of the rogue cultivators present had witnessed his tantrums and unreasonableness. They all put down their chopsticks and said, “I’m full, I’m full. I’m going to go and see the scenery of the manor.”
More than half of the guests in the hall immediately dispersed.
Xie Qingzheng had also wanted to leave. Just as she stood up, she saw a familiar black and white figure walk in.
Willow-leaf brows, fine eyes, charming and beautiful—it was Mu Zifu.
What was she doing here?
Xie Qingzheng sat back down.
Mu Zifu sat behind Yun Tang. The young master Yun Tang didn’t seem to see her. He held a pair of chopsticks and stirred them in all the dishes, saying with disgust, “What kind of dog food is this?”
“My dog wouldn’t even eat this! How can you all eat it with such relish?”
“Have you never eaten anything good before?”
The people at his table all put down their chopsticks and left in anger. But he clapped his hands and laughed happily.
The handymen serving at the side looked at each other helplessly. One of them went to the mourning hall to report.
In the entire manor, only his parents could control him.
The people at Yun Tang’s table found him unlucky and all left. Yun Tang laughed for a while, felt bored, and went from table to table. When he reached Xie Qingzheng’s table, he spat a mouthful of saliva into her bowl and then laughed, “Hahahaha, eat! Eat! Isn’t my family’s food delicious!”
Xie Qingzheng thought to herself: Is there something wrong with this person?
Seeing that Xie Qingzheng had no reaction, Yun Tang went to the next table, took off his shoes, threw them into the soup of the people at that table, and laughed in his cracking voice, “Let me add some flavor to your soup! After you’ve eaten my Yun family’s food, you have to listen to my Yun family’s words from now on!”
The soup splashed all over the guests.
The guests all put down their chopsticks and left in anger, cursing, “This is lawless!”
“As soon as Manor Lord Yun is gone, all sorts of demons and monsters have moved in!”
“If Tianquan Manor is handed over to someone like this, the entire cultivation world will be finished!”
When he reached Mu Zifu’s table, Yun Tang recognized her as the one who had cursed him just now.
The two of them looked at each other. Yun Tang immediately grabbed a pot of hot soup from the table and threw it at Mu Zifu.
Yun Tang pointed at her and cursed, “You fierce shrew, what are you so arrogant for?! I’ve never met anyone more arrogant than me! Don’t you know whose house you’re in? My parents can crush you with one finger!”
Xie Qingzheng was startled and quickly stepped forward to pull Yun Tang away, wanting to see if Mu Zifu was burned.
Mu Zifu wiped the soup from her face and raised a brilliant smile. “I was originally just going to teach you a simple lesson. Now, I’ve changed my mind.”
Xie Qingzheng thought that Mu Zifu was going to give him a good beating and immediately stood to the side, crossing her arms to watch the show.
The handymen at the side had long been dissatisfied with Yun Tang. They didn’t step forward to intervene and hid, pretending to go and report.
Mu Zifu drew the personal sword from her waist. A blue light flashed, and with a swing of her sword, a head rolled to the ground.
It rolled a few times and stopped at Xie Qingzheng’s feet.
With a thud, the headless body also fell to the ground.
Xie Qingzheng looked down and saw Yun Tang’s body and head separated. Her temples throbbed.
This sword strike had happened too quickly, too suddenly. No one present had reacted.
When they did, screams erupted.
Xie Qingzheng dazedly took off the veiled hat from her head and looked at Mu Zifu.
Mu Zifu, seeing that it was Xie Qingzheng, raised an eyebrow. “It’s you? What are you doing here?”
Xie Qingzheng’s throat was dry. “Every time I run into you, it’s never a good thing… Now, you’ve caused trouble again…”
And it was a huge trouble…
Mu Zifu grabbed Xie Qingzheng’s sleeve and wiped the blood from her sword, sneering, “Idiot, don’t you want to see him die?”
Xie Qingzheng didn’t answer, swallowed, and tried to suppress some of the dark and vicious thoughts in her heart.
She looked down and saw that her sleeve was stained with blood. She said hoarsely, “Are you trying to drag me down with you?”
She had ruined her beautiful white dress. She had only worn it for a day…
Mu Zifu was still smiling. “You and I are both from the Xuanji Sect. If someone is killed in Tianquan Manor, what’s the difference if it was you who killed him or me?”
Yun He and his wife arrived late. Seeing their son’s separated body and head on the ground, their eyes widened. They screamed in terror and rushed forward, trying to put the body and head back together, their wails shaking the heavens.
Mo Jiangxue and Mu Qingdai also hurried over.
The moment Xie Qingzheng saw Mo Jiangxue, she immediately stood by her side. But when she looked down and saw the blood on her clothes, she took a few steps back, away from her.
Mo Jiangxue looked at Xie Qingzheng, took a few steps closer, and protected her behind her.
Author’s Note:
An evil person will be dealt with by an evil person~~~
Little Mu is always bringing out Little Xie’s dark side~~~
