Chapter 63: Striking Without Hesitation

Wang Jingyuan looked at Lu Bai with a half-smile and said, "Although I have evidence, why should I have to prove myself just because Master Uncle Lu suspects me? The notion of presuming guilt is completely unacceptable."

Lu Bai slammed his hand on the table. "You are still spouting sophistry here! As long as you cannot produce evidence that you killed Tian Boguang, you might very well be in cahoots with him, and it was you who let him escape!"

"If I were in cahoots with him, I would have... Never mind, your logic is almost on par with a low-budget web drama, and debating with you lowers my intelligence. Since you want evidence, I'll just give it to you."

As if performing a magic trick, Wang Jingyuan produced a wooden box and opened it, revealing Tian Boguang's pickled head.

"This... this..." Lu Bai was filled with suspicion. Could this fellow have guessed that he was coming to make trouble for him, and thus prepared in advance? But since the other party had already produced evidence, he could no longer frame him on this matter.

Lu Bai slightly adjusted his emotions and said, "It seems Tian Boguang did indeed perish at the hands of my junior nephew. But why did my junior nephew cut off his head, pickle it, and carry it around with him? This hardly looks like the behavior of someone from the righteous path."

Wang Jingyuan dug into his ear. "Isn't leaving a trail of your work a mandatory course for every corporate wage slave? There's always some leader telling you just to do the work and they'll take the blame if anything goes wrong. But when trouble actually hits, the leaders hide faster than anyone else. To protect myself, I naturally have to keep a work record."

Lu Bai frowned as he listened for a long moment, and finally asked, "What does my junior nephew mean by this?"

"Well, to put it in a way you can understand, I discovered that quite a few wealthy merchants offered huge bounties because their family members had fallen victim to Tian Boguang's poisonous hands. Although word has mostly gotten out that I killed Tian Boguang, I'm afraid someone might be shameless, try to default on the reward, and deny my efforts by casually making up excuses—or worse yet, turn it around and bite the hand that feeds them. Driven to desperation, I had no choice but to resort to this ugly measure. Who says I'm short on money and desperately need this bounty?"

"You!!" Although Lu Bai was not a well-read man, he could still tell that Wang Jingyuan was cursing the monk while pointing at the bald locust tree, and anger flared within him. However, since Wang Jingyuan insisted on exchanging the head for the bounty, Lu Bai could say nothing; after all, even the imperial court recorded achievements in this manner.

Seeing that Lu Bai was left speechless, a member of the Hengshan Sect who had been invited along decided to stir up trouble. "Wang Jingyuan, I have come here today on a matter concerning you as well."

Wang Jingyuan reminisced for a moment and finally remembered who this person was. This old fogey was called Lu Lianrong, whose formal nickname was the "Golden-Eyed Eagle." But because he was overly talkative and annoying, people in the martial arts world behind his back called him the "Golden-Eyed Crow." Although his seniority within the Hengshan Sect was quite high, he was hardly a notable figure in the broader Jianghu.

"Brother Crow, speak up if you have something to say."

"What Brother Crow! My elegant title is the 'Golden-Eyed Eagle,' and in terms of seniority, I am your martial uncle!"

Wang Jingyuan pressed his hands downward. "You're not even a member of my Huashan Sect. Senior Three Master Liu and Elder Mo Da are both dear friends of mine regardless of age, and we treat each other as peers, so let's keep our respective forms of address. As for you, just call me junior nephew. And as for me, I'll call you 'Big Eagle Brother.' May I ask what brings 'Big Eagle Brother' here today?"

Lu Lianrong couldn't be bothered to bicker with Wang Jingyuan and simply demanded, "Let me ask you, when Liu Zhengfeng left Hengyang City, did he give you something?"

There was no point in denying this either, so he admitted, "He composed a piece of music called *Ode to the Asura World*, and feeling rather full of himself, he gave the score to me, wanting me to look at it and praise his brilliance. But in my opinion, his tune is not even as good as—"

Lu Lianrong pressed forward aggressively, "Cut the nonsense! Was it just a musical score? Why has someone seen you use my Hengshan Sect's *Thirteen Styles of the Ever-Changing and Illusory Hengshan Clouds and Mist*? Liu Zhengfeng has already washed his hands in a golden basin; he has no right to pass on the martial arts of our Hengshan Sect!"

Wang Jingyuan rubbed his chin. Aside from when I was practicing my swordplay in Hengyang City, I haven't used this sword technique anywhere else. It seems the people from Mount Song have been keeping an eye on me for a long time—probably because of my 'earth-shattering natural talent' that allowed me to learn *How is Mount Dai* in a short time and master the *Evil-Warding Sword Technique*."

"What, lost for words?" Seeing Wang Jingyuan remain silent, Lu Lianrong assumed he was feeling guilty.

Only then did Wang Jingyuan snap out of his thoughts and reply, "My *Thirteen Styles of the Ever-Changing and Illusory Hengshan Clouds and Mist* was taught to me by Elder Mo Da. I was just wondering a moment ago: Senior Three Master Liu merely left, he didn't die. Elder Mo Da merely isolated himself, he isn't mute. Before you came here, why didn't you seek verification from them?"

"This was indeed my oversight, but since it concerns the dissemination of my Hengshan Sect's ultimate arts, I must trouble my junior nephew to come with me and confront my senior brother."

Wang Jingyuan shook his head. "I'm not going."

"Then you are lying!"

Wang Jingyuan spread his hands. "My natural talent is extraordinarily high, and I can be called the seed of hope for the Huashan Sect. If you people fear that I will revitalize Huashan, lure me down the mountain, beat me to death, and then inflict some injuries on yourselves, you could just claim to the outside world that we were ambushed by demons of the Cult, and because my cultivation was low, I lost my life to the demonic demons while you barely escaped with your lives and were unable to save me. What else could my master, who ordinarily goes around carrying the title of the 'Gentleman Sword,' possibly do? Kill you to vent his anger? Of course he would only have the option of forgiving you."

Lu Bai laughed awkwardly and said, "Why does junior nephew say such things? The Five Yue Sword Sects are branches of the same family..."

"Didn't you like the presumption of guilt? I have already begun to suspect you now, so you should provide evidence to prove that you harbor no such thoughts."

Lu Bai suppressed his anger and argued, "We belong to a righteous and honorable sect; we would never do such a thing."

Wang Jingyuan smiled. "Oh, so you hadn't planned on doing it? If it were me, I would have done exactly that."

"Junior nephew, you..."

Wang Jingyuan turned his head to look at Feng Qingyang. "Grandmaster Uncle, you just need to capture Lu Bai; I still have use for him."

Feng Qingyang was somewhat startled. This was the Hall Where Sword Qi Pierces the Firmament! They were fellow members of the Five Yue Sword Sects! Even if they were hostile... Feng Qingyang did not think any further; with a long sigh, he appeared right beside Lu Bai.

For no other reason than that Wang Jingyuan had waved his hand and conjured a bed-crossbow, and taking advantage of the moment everyone was stunned, he directly triggered the mechanism. The broad, powerful crossbow bolt shot forth with immense force, cutting Lu Lianrong cleanly in half and carrying his upper torso flying out of the hall.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Wang Jingyuan had deployed a bed-crossbow and someone had died; neither Feng Qingyang nor Yue Buqun could afford to let these people leave alive, or it would spell absolute disaster.

The surviving Lu Bai and the disciple of Mount Tai Sect realized this as well, and with panicked screams, they attempted to flee. Lu Bai's acupoints were casually sealed by Feng Qingyang, while the Mount Tai Sect disciple was blocked by Yue Buqun.

This Mount Tai disciple was a nobody with no known name—at least Wang Jingyuan didn't know what he was called. Knowing he was no match for Yue Buqun, and realizing this was on Mount Shanhua itself with no possibility of escape, he cast aside his sword, surrendered, and begged for mercy. "Master Brother Yue, I knew nothing of this! It was Lu Bai who sought me out and asked my sect to accompany him on a trip to Mount Huashan. Spare my life, Master Brother Yue!"

Seeing the pleading Mount Tai disciple, Yue Buqun found himself somewhat troubled as to how to dispose of him. But a moment later, he no longer needed to be troubled, as Wang Jingyuan's long sword had already pierced straight through that man's chest.

Wang Jingyuan glanced sideways at the yellow health bar rapidly fading above the man's head. From start to finish, his health bar had never looked like the bright crimson ones of Lu Bai and Lu Lianrong; thus, it was evident that he merely leaned toward the Mount Song faction, and as for what they intended to accomplish on this trip, he truly remained largely ignorant.

Wang Jingyuan whispered into his ear, "I know everything you said is the truth, but when it comes to factional alignments, I can only say that love and hatred are beyond one's control. Take a deep breath, feeling dizzy is completely normal..."

[Proficiency in *Evil-Warding Sword Technique* +5]