“Hey, I’ve heard that Lady Luo was deeply in love with Wu Yuanying. She just can’t let go.”
“Ah there are indeed lovesick people in this world. Lady Luo is one with a devoted heart. Having such a beauty remembering him for over a decade, Wu Yuanying can rest in peace in the underworld.”
“Wu Yuanying may rest in peace, but the living is being tormented by this Luo Yuanrong!”
Hearing this, Fan Xingjia looked at Cai Zhao questioningly.
Cai Zhao: “Don’t look at me, I don’t know. I only know that Taichu Temple led the ‘Dinglu Mountain’ battle, inviting many martial world heroes, but our family didn’t go that time.”
Chang Ning: “Of course, you had just broken their prized sword. Of course, they wouldn’t invite you.”
Cai Zhao gave him a sidelong glance.
After hearing Qiu Yuanfeng’s words, Luo Yuanrong showed neither shock nor anger. Her once beautiful features, after more than a decade of hardship, now only displayed indifference and age. She slowly opened her lips: “Third Senior Brother needn’t rush. Everyone, please listen to me speak slowly.”
“That year, we learned that the evil cult was committing atrocities on Dinglu Mountain, using living people to refine pills, severely harming the surrounding civilians. Eldest Brother decided to eliminate this threat for the people’s sake and widely invited heroes and close friends to join in eradicating the evil. However, we didn’t expect that the one occupying Dinglu Mountain wasn’t an ordinary evil leader, but Elder Yaoguang, one of the Seven Star Elders of the evil cult.”
“Elder Yaoguang had many followers. After the close combat began, Eldest Brother realized we were outmatched and called for everyone to retreat. But Third Brother Qiu Yuanfeng, seeking glory, took advantage of the moment when the Twin Heroes of Lingnan and Zen Master Juefang were desperately holding back Elder Yaoguang to cover our retreat, and rashly attempted to ambush Elder Yaoguang… Third Brother, am I mistaken about this?”
Qiu Yuanfeng’s face turned dark.
Although ambushing an evil cult villain wasn’t wrong, Wu Yuanying had already ordered a retreat, and three heroes were sacrificing themselves to cover it. His ambush at this time, if successful, might have been justified, but its failure only endangered others.
Seeing Qiu Yuanfeng’s current expression, the crowd could guess that the ambush must have failed without needing to hear more.
Luo Yuanrong continued: “Third Brother’s hasty ambush only provoked that evil leader’s ferocity. He endured Third Brother’s sword strike, using his ultimate technique ‘Venomous Snake Heart-Piercing Claw’ to brutally split open Zen Master Juefang’s skull, then heavily struck the Twin Heroes of Lingnan with a palm each, before turning to deal with Third Brother.”
She smiled bitterly, “Now Third Brother is the esteemed sect leader with world-shaking skills, but back then, Third Brother’s kung fu was merely ordinary, wasn’t it?”
“That’s true, I can testify. Back then, Sect Leader Qiu was only slightly stronger than Junior Sister Luo,” Song Shijun cheerfully interjected.
The Taichu Temple disciples all glared at him angrily, while the Guangtian Gate disciples returned identical glares.
“With Elder Yaoguang’s power, even ten of the Third Brothers wouldn’t have survived. But Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother he…” Luo Yuanrong’s tears fell, “Without a second thought, he turned back to save Third Brother, fighting desperately with that evil leader. And my Third Brother, taking advantage of this opportunity, fled for his life!”
Many heroes knew that Wu Yuanying had died on Mount Dinglu, but they were hearing the true circumstances for the first time. The crowd erupted in an uproar. Even the young disciples from the Six Sects were shocked. People’s gazes toward Qiu Yuanfeng turned unfavorable, with some hot-tempered individuals even spitting on the ground in contempt.
Facing the various looks, Qiu Yuanfeng struggled to maintain composure. “Yes, Senior Brother did save me back then,” he admitted. “However, I didn’t flee out of cowardice. He ordered me to escape!”
“Oh?” The Taoist priest Yun Zhuan spoke again, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “When Wu Yuanying told you to retreat earlier, you didn’t listen. But after causing trouble and provoking the demon, you suddenly remembered to flee? So you take credit for the achievements but leave others to clean up your mess? No wonder people say Master Qiu has a ‘true nature’ – indeed, what a true nature it is!”
Song Shijun could barely contain his laughter. He loudly agreed, “Taoist Yun speaks the truth! Master Qiu, you should bear responsibility for the trouble you caused. Running away after creating chaos – didn’t you essentially send your senior brother to his death?”
Cang Qiongzi angrily retorted, “Slaying demons is the duty of all righteous heroes. Even if Yuanfeng was a bit hasty, it can’t be considered a grave mistake! Yuanying sacrificing his life to save him shows their deep brotherhood. Neither of them did anything wrong!”
Taoist Yun responded coolly, “Fine, if you say there’s no fault, then there’s no fault.”
Cai Zhao whispered, “When I leave the mountain someday, I must invite Taoist Yun for a drink.” His retorts were so satisfying!
“Save your breath,” Chang Ning glanced at the girl’s rosy cheeks.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Qi Yunke quickly interjected, “Sister Luo, this incident was indeed unfortunate. However, what’s done is done. Please try to accept it and move on. I believe Brother Yuanying willingly sacrificed himself to save his junior brother.”
Wang Yuanjing wept, murmuring, “It’s all my fault. I should have gone with them that day.”
“Second Senior Brother was recovering from injuries then. How could you have gone?” The handsome young Taoist quickly defended him.
“No, Senior Brother isn’t dead!” Luo Yuanrong wiped away her tears. “I know it. These past years, I’ve visited every survivor from Mount Dinglu. Not one saw Senior Brother die with their own eyes!”
Her conviction made the crowd hesitate.
Qiu Yuanfeng laughed bitterly. “The last time I looked back before leaving, I saw the Yaoguang demon’s Venomous Snake Heart-Piercing Claw grab Senior Brother’s chest. Ask anyone—has anyone ever survived that attack in decades? Even Master Juefang, the great disciple of Fakong, wasn’t as strong as Senior Brother. Yet one claw from that demon split his skull, killing him instantly!”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
The Venomous Snake Heart-Piercing Claw was infamous back then, said to be fatal without exception. It was Elder Yaoguang’s signature move, still chilling to recall. However, its overwhelming power drained so much energy that even Elder Yaoguang couldn’t use it repeatedly.
Zhou Zhizhen spoke gently, “Sister Luo if Wu truly fell victim to the Venomous Snake Heart-Piercing Claw, there’s no chance he survived. Please try to accept it.”
“If hit directly by the claw, death would be certain,” Luo Yuanrong agreed. “But what if an object shielded Senior Brother? My family has an heirloom, the Mysterious Iron Heart Mirror.” She pointed to the giant gong outside. “It’s made of deep-sea mysterious iron, like that gong. My father left it to me on his deathbed.”
The crowd was stunned.
“Before Senior Brother left that day, I begged him to wear the Heart Mirror under his clothes. I wouldn’t let him leave otherwise,” Luo Yuanrong said sorrowfully. “He finally agreed.”
She raised her head abruptly. “With the Mysterious Iron Heart Mirror, even the Venomous Snake Heart-Piercing Claw might not have been fatal!”
Qiu Yuanfeng, shaken to his core, roared to avoid thinking further, “That’s just your claim! No one has tested it—who knows if your mirror works? Besides, I didn’t know Senior Brother was wearing a heart mirror!”
“Even if Senior Brother died, even if just a corpse, you should have brought him back!” Luo Yuanrong screamed hoarsely. “You’ve always been jealous of Senior Brother, always thinking you’re better, always feeling you’d never succeed with him around. That’s why you abandoned him! You thought with Senior Brother gone, you could inherit Taichu Temple!”
Qiu Yuanfeng trembled with rage. “You… you’re spouting slander! It’s absurd, utterly absurd!”
Zhou Zhizhen interjected, “That’s going too far. At the time, Master Qiu’s skills were far below his Second Senior Brother Wang Yuanjing. By rank and martial arts, Wang should have succeeded as leader after Brother Yuanying. Sister Luo, your accusation is too serious.”
“Exactly! It’s this unrepentant disciple’s stubbornness that got her master killed!” Cang Qiongzi finally reacted, shouting, “I was in the Northwest then, and my senior brother was ill. When we heard of Yuanying’s tragic death, he immediately coughed up blood! This disciple still insisted everyone go to the demonic cult to save someone! He was already dead—what was there to save?”
“Then why did Elder Yaoguang send a message to Master?” Luo Yuanrong cried out.
The crowd was incredulous. Even Master Jingyuan stepped forward, saying sternly, “Master Canghuanzi despises evil. He would never collude with the demonic cult. Miss Luo, mind your words!”
Back then, the righteous and evil factions were already locked in a bloody feud. Anyone suspected of communicating with the enemy would instantly become a foe of the righteous path.
Luo Yuanrong spoke with a trembling voice: “The day after the Mount Dinglu battle, Master received a flying letter from Elder Yaoguang himself. It said Senior Brother wasn’t dead—that demon wanted to exchange him for Elder Kaiyang. Master dared not believe it, but hoped Senior Brother might truly be alive. So he took the letter to Nine Li Mountain to consult Old Patriarch Yin.”
“How many more of these powerful figures does the demonic cult have?” Cai Zhao muttered to himself.
Chang Ning reassured him, “Don’t worry, only two of those seven old monsters are left now.”