The two were about to listen further, but Qu Yao remained silent. After a while, Qu Yao turned around to put Cheng Ying into the box.
Now!
Mu Fengting gently pressed Mo Xi's hand, signaling her to hold back, and then entered through the window, attacking Qu Yao from behind like a ghost.
Why bury such beautiful bones in such tragic sorrow?
Qu Yao, being the head of the Shu Mountain sect, reacted with lightning speed, immediately turning around and drawing his sword to protect himself. Unexpectedly, Mu Fengting's movements suddenly changed. Wielding a curved dagger inlaid with emeralds, he launched a series of extremely fierce sword techniques, each strike aimed at Qu Yao's vital points. Seeing he was outmatched, Qu Yao abandoned Cheng Ying and met the attack with his bare hands. His aura instantly shifted, becoming menacing, and as his palm techniques unfolded, a sense of bloodlust filled the air.
Qu Yao's evil skills far surpassed Yuan Wu's, and he fought Mu Fengting to a standstill for a time. However, Mu Fengting's movements became increasingly refined and fluid as the fight progressed, while Qu Yao's ruthless fighting style seemed to gradually spiral out of control, eventually turning into a frenzied, reckless fight. Mu Fengting, unwilling to continue the fight, suddenly pulled something from his robes with his left hand and tossed it to Qu Yao.
Qu Yao retreated swiftly, barely managing to dodge.
Mu Fengting sneered, "Does Sect Leader Qu even despise the token of their love from back then?"
For a moment, Qu Yao naturally assumed that the other party had used a hidden weapon. Now, hearing Mu Fengting say this, although his hand movements did not slow down even for a second, he still couldn't help but glance at the ground.
It turned out to be a butterfly-shaped jade pendant!
Upon seeing it, he froze, abruptly withdrawing his palm strike. He bent down to pick up the jade pendant, and with trembling hands, took out another item from his robes—an identical piece of green jade, which, when placed together, formed a pair. However, the one he had taken out was warmer and smoother, likely due to decades of handling by him.
Mo Xi thought to herself: What a beautiful pair of butterflies flying together, but in the end, they only ended up alone.
Qu Yao's eyes flashed like lightning as he stared intently at Mu Fengting, his voice filled with a defensive malice as he asked, "Where did you get this jade pendant?!"
Mu Fengting said calmly, "Thanks to Sect Leader Qu, I was fortunate enough to encounter the Snow Sands and survive. I fell into an ice cave and obtained it from a female corpse."
Upon hearing this, Qu Yao became even more deranged, his eyes bloodshot, and he said, "Who gave you two the chance to threaten me into publicizing Luo Heng's affair as soon as you arrived, and for the other to come and take Cheng Ying away? You both deserve to die!" He paused, then shouted angrily, "What did you do to her?!"
Mu Fengting became increasingly calm, saying casually, "It wasn't anything serious, she just destroyed her ice coffin. When she escaped from the ice cave, she accidentally made too much noise, and countless ice spikes fell down from above, blocking the entrance. She might end up like Luo Heng."
Upon hearing this, Qu Yao seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, and he hissed, "Why is this? Why are you all forcing me like this? Why is this happening? She's already dead, dead, what more do you want!"
Seeing that he was heartbroken and frantic, Mu Fengting still didn't let up and said sarcastically, "Why does Sect Leader Qu have to pretend? You were probably the one who killed your lover back then."
Mo Xi thought to himself: This guy is really something. He can make Qu Yao lose his composure with just a few words.
Sure enough, Qu Yao burst into maniacal laughter, his body trembling violently. He said bitterly, "That's right. It was me who did it. We swore an oath of eternal love that day, promising to personally go down the mountain to her home to propose marriage once my swordsmanship was fully mastered. Who knew that old bastard He Qun would lure me with the position of the Shu Mountain Sect Leader, forcing me to become a monk. Poor thing, she was already pregnant at that time, and I was blinded by greed and agreed to He Qun's offer. I argued with her and accidentally injured her. Heartbroken, she dragged her ailing body and ran away alone. I was filled with pain and regret, so I could only make up a story about a monkey kidnapping a person and send the Shu Mountain disciples out to find her. When they found her, the child was gone. When she saw me, she only wanted to die. She stared blankly at me without saying a word, only silently shedding tears. Sometimes, when she was pushed too far, she would only keep demanding that I return her child." At this point, Qu Yao was completely immersed in the past, his face filled with deep pain, and tears streamed down his face. He collapsed to the ground, then clutched his head and murmured, "I can't save her. She won't let me save her; she must hate me to the core."
Mu Fengting ignored Qu Yao's self-pity and sneered, "Sect Leader Qu got what he wanted and became the sect leader, but why did he harm the innocent and slaughter the villagers at the foot of the mountain?" He thought to himself: It's probably because he lost control while practicing evil arts.
Qu Yaoru's lifeless eyes suddenly regained their sparkle, but it was now filled with venom as he said bitterly, "They all deserve to die. If her own father hadn't been so intolerant of her, why would she have run away from home and endured so many hardships to climb Mount Shu alone? She was just pregnant, and had nothing to do with those people, yet they still forced her to her death. They all deserve to die!"
Mo Xi thought to himself: Just as I suspected. He killed all the villagers down the mountain. And the female ghost the villagers spoke of was Qu Yao's former lover. Although it wasn't the female ghost who was claiming their souls, it was still because of her. Qu Yao's actions were all about "reputation," and he deliberately didn't use his internal energy, only using ice spikes to kill people to cover his tracks. Therefore, he must have also used force to destroy all the tombstones. This explains why the murderer, seemingly without martial arts skills, could destroy so many tombstones single-handedly.
Mu Fengting let out another cold laugh and said, "Sect Leader Qu has quite a lot of resentment. As for Luo Heng, what crime has he committed? Speaking of which, he also lost his beloved, so he and Sect Leader Qu are in the same boat." He thought to himself: While he is currently delirious, I will try to trick him first. Luo Heng's matter is most likely related to him.
Qu Yao said angrily, "That Luo fellow deserves to die too. I've been careful every day to become the sect leader. Why is he so relentless, implying that 'Jishantang' killed his wife, ruining my reputation everywhere, and forcing me to stand up for him?" He paused, then became even more indignant, "What is he? No one has ever stood up for me before. His wife is dead, why should I stand up for him?"
“Luo Heng has never done anything to wrong you. Yet you ordered Yuan Wu to kill someone’s wife just to retrieve the placenta.”
Qu Yao was startled and said, "How did you know about the placenta? Oh, it must have been that fool Yuanwu who leaked it. Haha, what a joke! They all think the placenta can increase one's power, but they don't know that I'm just using those unborn babies to mourn my poor, unborn child. Why can they be born safely, while my child has to die? My child must be lonely in the underworld. Sending them all down to accompany him is a fitting way to die."
Mu Fengting was secretly alarmed by his insane bloodlust, but he sneered, "Sect Leader Qu is secretly wreaking havoc while openly running 'Jishan Hall' to gain fame and reputation. You've gone to great lengths to protect your reputation, even destroying the tombstones of your fallen subordinates to prevent their families, especially the husbands of those women, from returning home after their military service to find their wives dead and coming to seek revenge on the Shushan Sect."
Qu Yao scoffed, "I didn't even erect a monument for her after she died. Those people certainly don't deserve it either."
Mo Xi sneered inwardly: Qu Yao's actions all stemmed from his own heart, yet he blamed everything on others. He hadn't revealed his lover's name from beginning to end, showing that even now, deep down, his reputation was paramount. Subconsciously, he still tried to conceal this secret.
Mu Fengting suddenly asked calmly, "Does Sect Leader Qu know why your martial arts have become demonic?"
Qu Yao said with resentment, "It is this word 'love' that has ruined my life. Back then, I lost my beloved and was so angry that I messed up my training. Over the years, this has been weighing on my heart, and it has only gotten worse."
Mu Fengting shook his head and sighed, "It's not that love has ruined you. On the contrary, if you truly understood love, things wouldn't be like this now. As the head of a Taoist sect, how could Master Qu not know that 'the way of Heaven benefits without harming; the way of man acts without contending' is the true path?" After saying this, without waiting for Qu Yao to react, he leaped up, struck with lightning speed to knock him unconscious, and forcefully fed him "Dream Separation."
Mo Xi then entered through the window and said, "Judging from his actions just now, his heart meridian has been damaged due to his years of abusing evil skills. Even if you hadn't intervened, he wouldn't have lived much longer."
Mu Fengting said, "My entanglement with him just now accelerated the activation of his evil skills."
Mo Xi picked up Cheng Ying from the ground, grasped the simple yet elegant hilt in her hand, and was immediately astonished. The instant Cheng Ying embedded itself in her palm, a blade miraculously sprouted. The blade was as clear as water, yet it reflected no light under the moonlight. With her uninjured left hand, she casually and lightly swung it towards a corner of the table, experiencing absolutely no resistance, not even a noticeable movement of air, and making no sound. That corner of the mahogany had been cleanly chopped off, the cut incredibly smooth and clean. And she hadn't used a single ounce of her internal energy!
Upon seeing it, Mu Fengting couldn't help but admire it greatly, clicking his tongue in amazement, "In Qu Yao's hands, Cheng Ying is merely a weapon to suppress evil, not a tool for defeating enemies. 'One Hundred Lectures on the Elegant Figures of the Martial World by Mu Yanzhai' isn't entirely fabricated after receiving money. In order to establish his authority as the sect leader in public, and fearing the exposure of his evil skills, Qu Yao naturally carried Cheng Ying with him. I'm afraid that when he suppressed bandits, he didn't wipe them out completely, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. In his hands, Cheng Ying is a restraining sword, restricting the user himself, and its destructive power is greatly reduced." After a pause, he added happily, "Regardless of whether He Qun used you to purge the Shu Mountain Sect, his giving you this sword must have been out of genuine sincerity. Only in your hands can this sword fully display the splendor of a peerless sword."
Unexpectedly, Mo Xi shoved the sword hilt into Mu Fengting's hand. The moment Cheng Ying left Mo Xi's grasp, its blade had concealed itself, and it didn't reappear in Mu Fengting's hands. Mu Fengting couldn't help but admire it once more, and solemnly returned the sword.
He had just seen Mo Xi casually hand him the sword, and a thought struck him: she trusted him so much. Little did he know that Mo Xi was merely testing whether the sword only changed when it was in her hands. Besides, she couldn't wield a sword now, and if Mu Fengting were to try and take it, she would have no chance of protecting this treasure. Why not take this opportunity to test it openly?
Mo Xi smiled gently and said, "You've dealt with Qu Yao, aren't you afraid that tomorrow morning, the Shu Mountain sect will be in an uproar, and we'll be hunted down by the Shu Mountain disciples?" She knew that with such a big incident, the Shu Mountain disciples would definitely contact the disciples below the mountain to seal off the mountain and search for the suspect. But for the two of them, Qu Yao's death meant the crisis was only temporary; if he didn't die, the harm would last a lifetime.
Mu Fengting blinked and smiled, "I'm afraid there won't be many people around to hunt us down by tomorrow morning. We'll just have to stall for time."
Mo Xi asked curiously, "What tricks have you played this time? Don't make too much noise and it might backfire." He thought to himself: This guy's methods are sometimes reckless, so I shouldn't be too ostentatious.
Mu Fengting didn't keep him in suspense any longer, and said with a smug smile, "Do you remember when I told you that the fruit of the wintersweet is called 'earth croton'?"
Mo Xi nodded, then suddenly realized, "You added something to the Shu Mountain disciples on the mountain? When?" The two of them had been together the whole time; there was no reason she wouldn't know.
"I went to the toilet today and stopped by the kitchen on the way."
Mo Xi chuckled upon hearing this, without asking him if the inspiration came from while he was in the outhouse.
Mu Fengting then said, "There is something I don't understand, and I hope you can enlighten me, young lady."
"You're asking how Qu Yao tampered with the icicles, brazenly killing Luo Heng in front of us." Seeing Mu Fengting nod, Mo Xi continued, "I guessed it after seeing the crystal shards around where Luo Heng was kneeling. Ordinary icicles, when they fall, would break off where they meet the eaves. But the one stuck in Luo Heng's body was different; it broke in the middle, leaving a piece still hanging on the eaves. I guess Qu Yao used a very thin crystal box, filled it with water, then broke off a piece of icicle, and then used the crystal box to connect them together. The outside of the box got wet, quickly froze, and thus it stuck together as a whole." The water inside the box quickly began to freeze in the outside environment. The same amount of water, once frozen, would be larger than before. Eventually, the ice in the box would grow so large that it would burst the crystal box, causing the icicles attached to the bottom to fall out. Luo Heng kneels in the same spot every day, and the prolonged kneeling in the snow would significantly reduce his reaction time and agility, making it difficult for him to dodge. While this move requires a stroke of luck, it's not impossible to land it on him if timed correctly. Qu Yao only needs to test the freezing time of the water in the box beforehand and then invite us in advance to act as his eyewitness.
Mu Fengting said with great admiration, "Young lady, you are incredibly intelligent and meticulous."
Mo Xi said, "Now is not the time to talk about these things. Let's go down the mountain tonight to avoid any unforeseen complications."
Mu Fengting said, "Yes. It is not convenient for you to fight right now, Miss. It would be too much of a burden for me to hold off the pursuers alone. We should escape as soon as possible."