Chapter 330
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At that moment, three people strode quickly from one corner of the plaza. They were none other than Hu Yunyi, the eldest brother, Li Jian, the second brother, and Liu Qingyang, the fifth brother. The three arrived together, looking in surprise at Ou Peng and the several injured disciples, and asked: “Sect Master, have you found any leads? Who is behind all this mischief?”
Ou Peng first waved at the injured disciples, signaling them to go back and recuperate, then turned to look at his three fellow disciples, who had grown up together with him. He bit his lip, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words.
Eldest Brother Hu, ever attentive, immediately asked: “Third Brother, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Fifth Brother Liu laughed and said: “Third Brother, what’s there to be afraid of? The Piaomiao Sect has weathered more than a few crises, haven’t we always made it through safely? By the way, where are Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother? Sixth still owes me two rounds of drinks. That guy’s external skills are so lacking, he’s still no match for me.”
That one sentence seemed to pierce the softest spot in Ou Peng’s heart. A single heroic tear slipped from his eye. He immediately turned his face away, and with a swift motion of his finger, covered it up, saying: “They’re at the Divine Mechanism Hall right now. Come, let’s go take a look.”
“That rascal Sixth, he didn’t even come to me first. Outrageous.”
Carefree as ever, Fifth Brother Liu strode off toward the Divine Mechanism Hall.
Eldest Brother Hu glanced at Second Brother Li, his face full of surprise. Just as he was about to question Ou Peng further, Ou Peng too set off, closely following after Liu Qingyang.
A cold glint flashed in Second Brother Li’s eyes as he hurried after them. Perhaps, as the calmest among them, he had already sensed something was wrong.
As they reached the front of the Divine Mechanism Hall, they saw Zhang Chengyue rush out from inside. Seeing the four approach, he immediately stopped and, as Ou Peng drew near, whispered: “Sect Master, Hall Master Shi and the others have already examined them.”
“Was it the handiwork of Dalin Temple?”
Before Zhang Chengyue could reply, Liu Qingyang shouted from beside them: “What? The methods of Daling Temple? Oh no, did Old Sixth Xu get hurt? I told him to practice his Golden Bell Shield more! Those bald donkeys from Dalin Temple are all vicious. Sixth Brother’s in for a rough time. By the way, if he’s hurt, why not take him to the Medicine Hall?”
In that instant, Eldest Brother Hu and Second Brother Li, following behind, seemed to realize something. They rushed forward, ignoring Ou Peng and Liu Qingyang, and burst into the Divine Mechanism Hall.
Ou Peng raised his hand as if to stop them, but it fell powerlessly to his side.
Perplexed, Liu Qingyang followed them in.
Just as Ou Peng was about to step forward, Zhang Chengyue said: “Sect Master, the two martial uncles did not die at the hands of Daling Temple. The two fatal palm prints on their bodies were from the Great Qiankun Palm of the Heaven’s Way Alliance.”
“What!? Zhang San’s Great Qiankun Palm? How is that possible?”
Ou Peng was even more shocked.
At that moment, a heart-wrenching cry echoed from within the Divine Mechanism Hall, Fifth Brother Liu’s anguished voice: “Fourth Brother! Sixth Brother!!”
This was followed by the sound of uncontrollable, bitter weeping.
Ou Peng glanced at the main doors of the Divine Mechanism Hall. His steps faltered, but he ultimately held himself back.
Standing there in silence, stroking the short beard on his chin, Ou Peng’s brows knit tightly together. After a moment, he instructed Zhang Chengyue: “Chengyue, quickly notify all disciples, from this moment on, maintain full vigilance. I expect formidable enemies will arrive soon. Everyone must be ready to retreat to Piaomiao Peak at a moment’s notice. Also, assign more people to move all the valuable items in the manor into the secret chamber. If the worst comes to pass, we’ll rely on the mountain for defense. This manor is difficult to defend and easy to attack; only Piaomiao Peak can serve as our stronghold. And one more thing, find someone to escort the young lady to Piaomiao Peak first. That takes top priority.”
Zhang Chengyue’s expression turned grave as he accepted the order and hurried off.
But Ou Peng called him back, leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Zhang Chengyue’s face changed dramatically, confusion written across his features. “Master, do we really have to do this?”
Ou Peng nodded. “Do it. It’s either the fish dies or the net is torn. Even if we’re the ones to perish, we’ll make sure they gain nothing for it!”
“But, Master, can that person really succeed?”
Ou Peng sighed. “We can only plan; success is up to the heavens. Who can say what fate has in store?”
Only then did Zhang Chengyue nod and hurry off to carry out his orders.
Watching Zhang Chengyue’s hurried figure disappear, Ou Peng let out a sigh, then took a deep breath, straightened his robes, and strode steadily into the Divine Mechanism Hall.
Inside, two wooden coffins stood in the center. Though sunlight streamed in under the bright sky, the hall was shrouded in sorrow.
Hall Master Shi Yukun and two white-haired elders stood by the coffins, hands clasped, their faces heavy with grief. First Brother Hu and Second Brother Li stood on the other side, staring blankly at the two departed junior brothers, lost in thought.
Only Fifth Brother Liu, like a child, clung to Sixth Brother Xu’s hand, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Quietly, Ou Peng walked to one corner of the coffins, saying nothing, simply gazing in silence, as if lost in memories of the past.
The Divine Mechanism Hall had long lost its former solemnity; now, only grief pervaded the great hall.
After a long while, Fifth Brother Liu finally cried himself out. He leapt to his feet, wiped away his tears and snot, ran over to Ou Peng, grabbed his robes, and shouted: “Third Brother, who did this? Was it those bald donkeys from Dalin Temple? Which one? I’ll settle this with him today, so Sixth Brother can rest easy in the afterlife!”
Ou Peng looked at Liu Qingyang and said quietly: “Fifth Brother, calm down first and let me explain.”
“Calm down? How can I calm down? Fourth and Sixth Brothers were killed and sent back to us, this is a slap in the face for our Piaomiao Sect! If this blood debt goes unpaid, I’ll stop calling myself Liu! Third Brother, tell me, was it Chang Geng, or Chang Xing? Or did Chang Sheng himself do it?”
Ou Peng’s face darkened. “The fatal wounds on Fourth and Sixth Brothers were from Zhang San of the Heaven’s Way Alliance, using the Great Qiankun Palm. But it’s said there was also a monk involved, so I suspect Dalin Temple had a hand in this too.”
“Zhang San? That scoundrel’s never crossed us before, and now he dares to strike from the shadows? I’ll go find him right now!” Fifth Brother Liu finished speaking and turned to storm out.
Ou Peng couldn’t let him go and grabbed him. “Fifth Brother, where are you going to look for him? Are you planning to storm the main peak of the Heaven’s Way Alliance?”
“Even if it’s the Heaven’s Way Alliance’s Zhengdao Peak, so what? At worst, I’ll throw my two hundred pounds at them and take them on myself!”
Fifth Brother Liu, brimming with heroic spirit, shook off Ou Peng’s hand and tried to rush out.
At this moment, First Brother Hu barked: “Fifth Brother, stop! Isn’t there enough chaos already? Do you want to make us worry even more? Do you want us to see you sent back here, too?”
Fifth Brother Liu always listened to First Brother Hu, so he didn’t dare move an inch, but he shouted: “But, Big Brother, Fourth and Sixth Brothers…” He stomped his foot hard, then finally squatted down and pounded the floor with his fists, drawing blood.
First Brother Hu watched and sighed, but didn’t stop him.
Ou Peng walked over, patted Liu Qingyang’s shoulder, and said: “Fifth Brother, get up. Don’t worry, we will definitely avenge Fourth and Sixth Brothers. Even if we have to stake everything our Piaomiao Sect has, we’ll storm Zhengdao Peak ourselves.”
“Good!” Liu Qingyang immediately stood up, ignoring the blood on his hands, and asked: “When do we set out?”
Ou Peng gave a bitter smile. “Don’t worry, Fifth Brother. Even if we don’t storm Zhengdao Peak, they’ll be coming to our door soon enough.”
“Really?” First Brother Hu and Fifth Brother Liu asked in unison.
Liu Qingyang sounded a bit excited, but Hu Yunyi was more surprised.
“What’s going on, Third Brother? Tell us everything.” First Brother Hu asked, frowning.
After Ou Peng finished explaining the details, First Brother Hu’s frown deepened. He said: “If that’s the case, our Piaomiao Sect is facing its most severe crisis yet. One wrong move and we could be wiped out. But why would the Heaven’s Way Alliance join forces with Dalin Temple?”
Ou Peng gave a bitter smile. “It’s only my speculation, I have no concrete evidence. Maybe that bald monk was just some random monk. Either of those sects alone would be more than we could handle, let alone both together. I can’t see any reason why they’d join forces against us.”
“Could it be some other power framing them?”
“That’s possible, Big Brother. Another possibility is the Heavenly Dragon Cult.”
Hearing this, Hu Yunyi drew a sharp breath. “Heavenly Dragon Cult is a true behemoth, a force that rivals the entire orthodox world. When did we get tangled up in such trouble?”
Ou Peng explained: “Big Brother, it’s just a possibility. If it really were the Heavenly Dragon Cult, they wouldn’t bother with such trouble, they’d just storm right in. This kind of method isn’t their style.”
“If not them, then it must be the Heaven’s Way Alliance. The Great Qiankun Palm isn’t something just anyone can imitate.”
“That’s right, Big Brother. The Heaven’s Way Alliance is the most likely, but they have no reason to do something so outrageous.”
“Unless…” At this, both men spoke in unison: “It’s the secret realm?”
“But we’ve kept the secret realm’s information tightly guarded. Even among our own hall masters, only a few know about it. How could it have leaked?”
“Big Brother, we haven’t leaked it, but we can’t guarantee that Yanming Manor, the Tan Family, or Ten Thousand Swords Peak haven’t let something slip.”
“That seems unlikely. The master of Yanming Manor is extremely cautious, and outsiders can’t easily enter. The Tan Family is a renowned martial clan, even stricter than us. Wan Chengjiu of Ten Thousand Swords Peak is cunning beyond measure; he even keeps a hand on Five-Claws Peak to watch over it. How could any news leak? I’d wager fewer than five people there know about the secret realm.”
“Alas, Big Brother, there are no walls in the world that the wind can’t pass through. The four sects have been managing the secret realm for three or four years now, and we’ve all benefited greatly. The rapid growth of our Piaomiao Sect these years is thanks to the herbs from the secret realm. It’s hard to believe no one has noticed.”
“And we even got the Longevity Pill from the secret realm. Such a heaven-defying treasure is bound to attract disaster.”
“Blessings and misfortunes are intertwined, how true the ancients were!”
PS: I ask everyone to patiently read “The Sorrow of Piaomiao.” This is a brief summary of the earlier part of the book, a place where many plot holes will be filled, and many new ones will be dug. There’s also a small surprise left for everyone…
