Uncanny Immortal 39

Chapter 39

“Master, I… I didn’t have any killing intent…” Seeing Mo Jiangxue approach, Xie Qingzheng’s heart felt as if it would leap out of her chest. She explained in a trembling voice, “I just pulled him a little…”

Although everyone present could testify that she hadn’t killed him, her clothes were stained with blood, her face was drained of color, and she was standing with Mu Zifu. They were also from the same sect. Anyone who came in and took a look would see her as an accomplice to the murder.

A human life was no small matter, especially when it involved two major sects.

At the funeral of the former Manor Lord of Tianquan Manor, she had killed the future “young manor lord” of Tianquan Manor. She dared not think about how to resolve such a huge trouble.

Mo Jiangxue glanced at Mu Zifu, hummed coolly in acknowledgment, and said no more. She took out her qin and untied her Flowing Frost Xiao, handing it to Xie Qingzheng. She transmitted her voice, “Your weapons are still in the guest room.”

Are we going to fight?

Xie Qingzheng’s heart pounded. She took Mo Jiangxue’s Flowing Frost Xiao and held it in her hand.

The jade xiao was cold to the touch, and the panic in her heart seemed to cool down a little.

What should have happened and what shouldn’t have, had already happened. What could she do?

She would just have to take it one step at a time…

The cultivators in the manor heard the commotion and all rushed over.

Before long, the hall was crowded with people, a noisy scene of discussion. The expressions on everyone’s faces were either horrified, astonished, bewildered, gloating, or furious.

Those glaring at them were mostly people from Tianquan Manor.

They tore off their mourning clothes, revealing their green robes. With a series of swishes, they either drew their personal sabers or their personal swords. The blades glinted, and figures flickered. In an instant, they had surrounded the female cultivators of the Xuanji Sect.

The female cultivators of the Xuanji Sect also drew their magical artifacts.

Compared to Xie Qingzheng’s pale face, Mu Zifu was quite at ease, hiding behind Mu Qingdai. Her smiling expression from before was gone, and she cried to Mu Qingdai with a look of grievance, “Big Sister, he bullied me first! He cursed me, spat at me, and threw soup on me! I hate it when people spit at me and throw things on me!”

It was unknown how much of her grievance was real and how much was fake, but she did look very wretched. There were still soup and oil stains on her head and body, and the skin on her cheeks and neck was a bright red from the scalding.

Mu Qingdai held her Sorrow-Seeing Flute, her face uncertain.

Mu Zifu continued to cry, “Big Sister… he also bullied Junior Sister Qingzheng… Big Sister, we didn’t mean to… we were forced to fight back…”

Hearing the word “we,” Xie Qingzheng was slightly annoyed: Now it’s “we”?! I didn’t see you being so friendly when you were bullying people!

But at this moment, it was not appropriate for her to jump out and argue that it had nothing to do with her, that she hadn’t killed anyone. When they were out, they shared honor and disgrace. It was impossible for Mu Qingdai to push Mu Zifu out, and the people of Tianquan Manor would only ask the Xuanji Sect for an explanation.

Xie Qingzheng thought of Xiao Wangqing, far away in the Xuanji Sect.

Mu Zifu, in Tianquan Manor, had cut off the young manor lord’s head with one sword strike—she wondered what the Sect Master would think when she heard this news.

The blood from Yun Tang’s body flowed continuously. Yun He and his wife’s hands and bodies were covered in their beloved son’s blood. Their wails were like cries of blood.

The Yun father held his son’s body and cried his eyes out. The Yun mother’s chest heaved, grief and resentment welling up in her heart. She glared at the people of the Xuanji Sect with venomous hatred and gritted her teeth, “Take them all down! Kill them on the spot! Don’t let a single one go!”

The Yun father was weak and indecisive. The Yun mother was from the Kaiyang sect and had had a spoiled and willful temper since she was a child. Before she was married, she would often shout about fighting and killing. She was from a famous family, and everyone had to give her some leeway. Now that she had a son, her fiery temper was still the same.

The enmity of having her son killed was irreconcilable. There was no room for negotiation. She wanted them to be buried with her son!

A series of shouts rang out, and the crowd of cultivators all retreated to a safe distance.

Although Yun Tang was detested by everyone, he was, after all, a person of Tianquan Manor. For one of their own to die in their own manor, and in such a ruthless and humiliating way as having his head cut off with one sword strike, was equivalent to a resounding slap in the face for everyone. Everyone was filled with a common hatred and rushed forward.

The four great guardians of Tianquan Manor—the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the Black Tortoise, and the White Tiger—all attacked. Mu Qingdai and Mo Jiangxue each fought two.

The remaining female cultivators of the Xuanji Sect stood in the eight directions, forming a circle of the eight trigrams to defend against the enemy.

For a moment, the sound of tables and chairs breaking, the clash of sabers and swords, and the sound of the qin, xiao, and flute were incessant. Interspersed were the voices of cultivators from other sects trying to mediate, and the curses of the cultivators of Tianquan Manor:

“Let’s talk things out! Don’t fight!”

“He’s already been killed! What’s there to talk about!”

“How could such a thing happen at Manor Lord Yun’s funeral?”

“With so many guests here today, for our own people to be killing each other, what a joke for outsiders to see!”

“When they killed Yun Tang, did they think of us as their own people?!”

“From now on, Tianquan Manor and the Xuanji Sect are irreconcilable enemies!”

Before long, a series of screams came from the hall. The smell of blood filled the air, and the floor and walls were covered in blood.

The cultivators of Tianquan Manor were all fighting to the death. Some of the female cultivators of the Xuanji Sect were injured. Xie Qingzheng’s heart was in a panic. Before, she had only used the sound of her xiao to defend against the enemy, just like Mo Jiangxue, either knocking them to the ground or pressing their acupoints, not taking their lives. Now, hearing the screams of her senior sisters, a murderous intent was immediately infused into the sound of her xiao.

The light of sabers and swords fell on everyone like a storm. The smell of blood grew stronger and stronger. Six more saber-wielding masters from Tianquan Manor rushed in and hacked at the female cultivators. Mu Qingdai and Mo Jiangxue looked at each other, their fingertips changed the tune, and the qin and flute played in harmony. The two sound waves, with the same melody, instantly combined their power and, like a whirlwind sweeping away the clouds, repelled the attack of the six.

The six then turned to attack the two of them.

The cultivators from the other sects all watched from the sidelines, their thoughts varied. Some said, “You guys, stop fighting,” but in their hearts, they thought, A scene of Cloud Melody, Flowing Frost and Sorrow-Seeing Ghost joining forces against an enemy is a rare sight!

The harder they fight, the better. It’s best if the two families really become irreconcilable enemies from now on!

The Xuanji Sect had at most twenty people, and the only masters were Mu Qingdai and Mo Jiangxue.

Tianquan Manor had already gathered several hundred people in a short period of time. At this critical moment, they had completely abandoned all morality and were attacking the few with the many, swarming them. Yet they still could not do anything to Mu Qingdai and Mo Jiangxue, who were fighting together.

One wave of people fell, and another wave came in.

The Xuanji Sect had killed someone first and was not in the right. The cultivators from the other sects would certainly not help. If they continued to fight like this, they could be worn down and killed here.

It would have been easy for Mu Qingdai and Mo Jiangxue to leave, but to take all the people of the Xuanji Sect with them was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

An unknown amount of time passed. In the Xuanji Sect, one after another, female cultivators fell. Xie Qingzheng held her xiao and stood in front of her senior sisters, using her body as a shield to prevent the qi from the sabers and swords from harming the fallen senior sisters, completely disregarding the fact that her left shoulder had already been struck by a sword and her steps were already unsteady.

Mo Jiangxue pressed the strings with her left hand and plucked with her right. Seeing that the situation was not good, the sound of her qin paused for an imperceptible moment. Her left hand left the strings, and she drew the Tianxuan Sword from under her qin, using sword techniques to block and parry, while her right hand continued to play the qin.

The sound of the qin repelled the surrounding masters. Before they could regroup, she leaped out of the encirclement, and with her sword, she rushed straight at the Yun mother. She repelled the guards by the Yun mother’s side with her sword qi, placed her sword on the Yun mother’s neck, and said lightly, “Pardon me.”

The crowd let out a gasp.

She usually didn’t do things like taking hostages and threatening people, but if they continued to fight, there would inevitably be deaths and injuries on both sides.

Mo Jiangxue: “Please be so kind as to say ‘stop.’”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Before the Yun mother could answer, several warning signal fireworks suddenly exploded in mid-air. A city guard rushed to report, “It’s bad! A large number of demonic cult members have gathered outside the city! They say they’ve come to pay their respects to the Manor Lord!”

The cultivators in the crowd’s expressions changed drastically. They no longer watched from the sidelines and all exclaimed, “Stop! Stop!”

“The demonic cult is here! Stop fighting!”

“Stop the internal fighting! Quickly go out of the city to meet the enemy!”

The Yun mother wiped the tears from her face, looked at the few people from the Xuanji Sect with venomous hatred, and ordered fiercely, “Stop! Go out of the city to meet the enemy first!”

If the demonic cult were to break into the city, the foundation of Tianquan Manor, built over hundreds of years, would be destroyed in one fell swoop, and she would not have the life to avenge her son’s death! She still knew which was more important!

The group of green-robed cultivators from Tianquan Manor retreated like a tide. Mo Jiangxue sheathed her sword and said again, “Pardon me.”

The cultivators from the other sects also did not dare to stay and watch the excitement and drew their swords to rush out of the city.

The female cultivators of the Xuanji Sect collapsed to the ground. Only Mu Qingdai and Mo Jiangxue remained standing, one holding a qin, the other a flute. The former was calm and composed, the latter’s expression was uncertain.

The two of them looked at each other again and simultaneously walked outside. But they saw the Yun mother slap the pillar of the hall twice. A semi-transparent barrier fell, trapping the people of the Xuanji Sect in the hall.

“Don’t even think of escaping in the chaos! I’ll settle the score with you when I get back!”

The hall was open to the sky, and the tables, chairs, and dishes in the hall were all in pieces.

Xie Qingzheng cleared a clean corner, helped the injured senior sisters to lie down, and transferred qi to heal them.

Their pills and bundles were all in the guest rooms. A few of the senior sisters were seriously injured. Mo Jiangxue and Mu Qingdai joined forces to heal them.

Almost all the cultivators of the manor had been mobilized, and they had no time to care about the people of the Xuanji Sect.

Xie Qingzheng was so anxious she was sweating. Suddenly, a familiar green-robed cultivator flashed in with a bag of pills, saluted everyone, put down the medicine, and said, “I have already sent a message to the Xuanji Sect.” With that, she hurried away, not daring to say another word to them.

It was Qing Luo.

Xie Qingzheng said thank you to Qing Luo’s back.

Everyone quickly fed the pills to the seriously injured female cultivators.

From dawn to dusk, Mu Qingdai tried countless times in the hall, either playing the flute, using her sword, or playing in harmony, but she could not break the barrier in the hall.

Mu Qingdai put the flute back on her waist and said listlessly, “I’m not trying anymore! It’s the same as the Xuanji Sect’s barrier. It was left by the Ancestral Master and has been reinforced for generations. It can’t be broken, unless someone from inside the manor helps to open it!”

Mo Jiangxue held her qin and walked to Xie Qingzheng’s side, sat down, and played a tune to regulate the qi in everyone’s body.

Hearing the sound of the qin, Xie Qingzheng and the other senior sisters sat down cross-legged and circulated their qi to heal.

After their breath had stabilized a little, everyone opened their eyes and looked at Mo Jiangxue with eager eyes, feeling that she was so calm and composed, and that she might have a solution.

The eyes of the juniors were filled with expectation. Mo Jiangxue raised an eyebrow slightly, plucked a string, and said coolly, “I don’t have a solution either.”

Xie Qingzheng sighed wistfully. “It seems we can only wait for the Sect Master to come and rescue us…”

If it were a demonic cult attack, they could still fight back and kill the enemy. But Tianquan Manor could be said to be an ally of the Xuanji Sect. They really couldn’t use lethal force and could only wait for the Sect Master to resolve it.

The people of the Xuanji Sect then turned their eyes to Mu Zifu, who had caused this great disaster.

Mu Zifu was covered in blood and was being punished by Mu Qingdai to kneel in the center of the hall.

Mu Qingdai neither healed her nor let others heal her, only making her tell Xie Qingzheng what had happened, one by one.

After hearing the story, Mu Qingdai said nothing and continued to make Mu Zifu kneel.

After a while, she asked Mu Zifu, “Do you know you were wrong?”

Mu Zifu nodded. “Big Sister, I was wrong.”

Mu Qingdai asked in a cold voice, “What were you wrong about?”

Mu Zifu: “I shouldn’t have killed him in public and caused trouble for Big Sister. I should have killed him quietly when no one was around.”

Mu Qingdai was so angry she almost crushed the Sorrow-Seeing Flute in her hand. “Mu Zifu! Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions?!”

Mu Zifu let out a dry laugh and said, “Big Sister, when I was begging on the streets before, people would spit at me and pour leftover noodle soup on me. I only knew to fight back so that that person wouldn’t dare to bully me again. No one ever taught me to consider any consequences…”

She had learned about the evil of the human heart and the ways of the world early on. She knew how to mock, ridicule, and curse people, and how to deal with people she didn’t like with ruthless means. She also knew what to say to make the people who cared about her feel sad and upset for her.

Mu Qingdai indeed said no more and turned her gaze away.