Sueño de Jiangshan

Capítulo 48

"Does Xiao Jie mean there's a way to help the Green Robe Sect escape this calamity? If so, I'm willing to give my life to you!"

Doesn't he realize that his old life was already over? From the moment his son promised to obey her orders forever, the Duanmu family had a new boss.

Leng Jie still spoke calmly:

“Since this matter has nothing to do with the Green Robe Sect, Uncle, there is no need to worry. What has already happened can never be erased. No matter how clean and perfect they are, there will always be a way to expose them.”

He was well aware of the reasoning. But putting it into practice was easier said than done! Could he place his hopes on a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl? Even if this girl was incredibly capable and had the Emperor's trust, what then? Moreover, he feared revealing that the Green Robe Sect was a royal secret service. He also couldn't reveal that he, the sect leader, was a victim of the Duanmu family's crimes. Thinking of this, the flame of hope that Duanmu Jianhun had just ignited had already been extinguished by more than half.

Seeing the worry return to his face, Leng Jie guessed he was being overly anxious again. She continued:

"However, to uncover the truth behind this seemingly settled matter, we will certainly need your cooperation, Uncle. I guarantee with my life that as long as you are willing to cooperate, I can not only completely sever the Green Robe Sect's ties to this matter, but also bring out the real mastermind behind it all."

Although he felt Leng Jie had gone a bit overboard, he naturally wouldn't object since he had already promised to follow her arrangements. So he nodded heavily and promised again that he would cooperate fully. Even if it meant committing suicide in public as an apology, he wouldn't hesitate.

If Duanmu Jianhun had kept his attention on Leng Jie at that moment, he would have noticed the glint of calculation in her eyes and the sly smile on her lips.

Chapter 84 The Sun Rises After the Clouds

White snowflakes fluttered and danced in the gloomy sky, quickly dressing the earth in a light and elegant pure white winter coat! The exciting martial arts tournament finally arrived as scheduled, warmly welcomed by the falling snowflakes.

With a burst of intense, resounding drumbeats, an unprecedented martial arts tournament suddenly began! The vast, desolate snowfield was instantly filled with the sounds of voices, as all sorts of martial arts practitioners flooded into the venue like a tide.

The most noteworthy of these is...

First was a group of people carrying the Dragon Gate banner. There were about a hundred of them. All dressed in pure white, as white as snow, they seemed to rival the beauty of the earth. Needless to say, the tall, strong man leading them, wearing a golden mask, was none other than the enigmatic Dragon Gate Master, just like the leader of the Green Robe Sect. Their entry into the venue immediately drew cheers and exclamations of amazement!

The second notable group was, of course, the opposition to this conference: the Green Robe Cult. They were the complete opposite of the Dragon Gate, dressed entirely in black. The man in the center, whose head was also covered by a black cloth, with only his eyes, nostrils, and mouth visible, was none other than the infamous leader of the Green Robe Cult.

As soon as they entered, everyone was taken aback! The Green Robe Sect knew this was a gathering to punish those who had wronged others, yet they had come uninvited. Were they so confident in their abilities? They clearly didn't respect their fellow martial artists at all! Then, they scoffed. Hmph! Those hiding their faces are indeed cowardly scoundrels who can't stand the light of day.

Many martial artists were present, all relatives and friends of the powerful families who had died at the hands of the Green Robe Sect. Now, enemies meeting again were filled with intense hatred. Just as a bloody battle was about to begin, a powerful, resonant baritone voice suddenly rang out.

"Everyone, quiet down! Since the Green Robe Sect is here too, that's perfect. Let's settle all our grudges on this arena!"

Instantly, the chaotic scene was brought under control. In fact, the person most surprised when the leader of the Green Robe Sect openly appeared was Shangguan Chuxiong. His madness had actually been cured? Didn't their young master say that his madness would never be cured? However, he was certain that the Green Robe Sect couldn't possibly recover under the combined attack of so many martial artists. That's why he magnanimously welcomed them in.

The Qingyi Sect members didn't object, so everyone assumed they agreed. Like other martial arts practitioners, they were led by the Shangguan Si family's servants to sit in a row of empty seats. Because they had entered around the same time as the Longmen Sect, their two groups were seated together.

A striking black and white vista immediately caught the eye of a pair of sparkling, star-like eyes perched atop a strangely large pine tree jutting out from the mountain above the venue. With a mere glance downwards, she could see the entire scene clearly. She had spent considerable time finding such a favorable vantage point.

Seeing Xuanyuan and Qingfeng's eyes darting around, she knew they were looking for her. She couldn't help but wave at them, though they couldn't see it. Then, Shi Yu appeared on the platform, wearing a dazzling royal robe. After exchanging pleasantries with the martial arts figures who had come to curry favor, his deep black eyes first met Xuanyuan and Qingfeng's, then began searching the crowd again. Meanwhile, the leader of the Green Robe Sect, with his sinister eyes, frequently glanced at the surrounding mountains.

After the scene quieted down, Shangguan Chuxiong's voice rang out again on the stage:

"Fellow martial arts practitioners! Who are the perpetrators of the recent massacres that have wiped out several families in the martial world? I believe you all know. I will not repeat it here. I am not capable enough to confront those brutal murderers alone, nor can I avenge these great families! Therefore, I issue this martial arts invitation, asking all fellow martial artists to come together and discuss revenge..."

Excuse me for interrupting!

Suddenly, a gentle voice, as soft as a breeze, interrupted Shangguan Chuxiong's deep, resonant voice. Everyone involuntarily turned their gazes to the speaker. Instantly, a chorus of gasps filled the hall. Was this for real? Such a beautiful voice coming from that ruthless, murderous tyrant? A chill ran through them, and they all shivered involuntarily.

The person in the tree wore a satisfied smile. His lips moved slightly as he muttered, "The show is finally starting!"

The leader of the Green Robe Sect, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, seemed completely oblivious to the contemptuous and angry stares. He maintained his gaze fixed on Shangguan Chuxiong on the arena and softly said:

"Master Shangguan! Please forgive my ignorance, but I do not understand who this well-known murderer you are referring to is."

His voice, his tone, his manner were completely natural, as if he were truly unaware of the situation. This compelled everyone who had just left his sight to return.

Shangguan Chuxiong was momentarily stunned, then his expression darkened. He gave a cold laugh and said sharply:

"Hmph! Who else could be the murderer but your Green Robe Sect? You, as the sect leader, don't know? You're clearly pretending to be ignorant, deliberately trying to fool the righteous people of the martial arts world. Today is the end of your Green Robe Sect."

Shangguan Chuxiong truly commanded a huge following; before his words had even finished, countless shouts of agreement rang out. For example:

"Destroy the Green Robe Sect! Avenge the dead! Eliminate this scourge from the martial arts world..." and so on.

This time, Shangguan Chuxiong didn't speak up to stop it. The leader of the Green Robe Sect and the others also acted as if they hadn't heard. Because of this, the martial arts tournament hadn't even agreed on a method for holding it, and the venue was already in chaos. Only the black and white teams remained orderly and calmly observing the situation. To put it bluntly, they were watching the show, like the director in the tree. They were enjoying the spectacle.

"Cough! Cough!" Prince Ying on the platform suddenly turned pale and coughed twice.

Shangguan Chuxiong immediately waved his hand to stop them. The audience immediately fell silent. Then, he cleverly said:

"Please, Your Majesty, the wise and mighty Prince Ying, deliver a speech for this grand martial arts gathering!"

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted!

The King of England said solemnly:

"Originally, this martial arts gathering was a matter for the martial world, and the imperial court should not interfere. However, this case involves the murder of several high-ranking officials. Therefore, I have been entrusted by His Majesty to attend this gathering. However, His Majesty has stated beforehand that you should follow your own martial arts rules. The imperial court will not interfere. But if any criminals are involved, I will arrest them and prosecute them according to the law. Now that Master Shangguan and many martial arts friends have unanimously concluded that the murderer is the Green Robe Sect, then please present your evidence!"

Then Shangguan Chuxiong reported a whole bunch of evidence of the Green Cult's crimes, all of which were weapons, tokens, and witnesses left behind by the Green Cult at the scene, etc. In short, there was nothing.

Numerous angry gazes swept over the Green Robe Sect once more. Faced with the facts, how will you try to deny them?

Suddenly, the leader of the Green Robe Sect leaped onto the arena.

Everyone thought he was admitting his guilt and was going to go up on stage to face his death! The crowd below was eager to try. However, not a single person was fearless. Even when the black-clad cult leader stood before the pile of so-called evidence, not a single person dared to step forward to seek revenge.

He carefully examined the evidence, then suddenly said loudly:

"These things don't belong to the Green Robe Sect! Someone deliberately forged them to frame our Green Robe Sect." Before anyone could react, he pointed to a bronze-hilted green-edged sword and said:

"Our Qingyi Sect has always ranked swords by their hilts, a fact known to all martial artists. However, there is a unique characteristic about these swords that even members of the Qingyi Sect are unaware of. That is, these swords of different ranks cannot be used against swords with lower ranks, such as those with iron or wooden hilts. That would be effortless. To prove whether these swords possess that characteristic is actually quite simple. Just have two people of significantly different martial arts skills each wield one sword and test it. If Da Kong doesn't believe me, we can test it on the spot."

"Then let's give it a try, let's give it a try!" someone chimed in, seizing the opportunity.

The leader of the Green Robe Sect turned his gaze to Shangguan Si Chuxiong and one of his young apprentices and continued:

"To ensure fairness, I'll trouble Master Shangguan and his apprentice to test this out for everyone! Master Shangguan can randomly select an iron-hilted sword from among the members of the Green Robe Sect. And this young man can choose a bronze-hilted sword, just like the one in this evidence. Then, we'll know whether I'm lying or not. After that, we'll use the same method to test this so-called evidence."

Although Shangguan Chuxiong was extremely unwilling, he couldn't escape the curious gazes of the crowd. He could only suppress his anger and reluctantly become the first "monkey" to be watched that day. He reached out to the group of men in black and obtained two swords, one iron and one bronze. He then turned and handed the bronze sword to his young apprentice, giving him a wink. The apprentice, receiving the signal, cleverly winked at his master.

Shangguan Chuxiong poured ten levels of his internal energy into the iron sword. He refused to believe that it couldn't cut through the bronze sword in the hands of his disciple who didn't use internal force.

Everyone stared intently at the battle between master and disciple. Two flashes of blue light appeared on the arena, followed by the crisp sound of a sword breaking. Then came a cry of pain, "Ah!" as the younger disciple coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Disappointment filled the crowd; it seemed that no matter how good the sword, the younger disciple couldn't defeat his master.

Shangguan Chuxiong immediately helped his disciple up, turned around and glared at the Green-Clad Cult Leader with a violent look, coldly questioning him:

"Is this the sword you spoke of that can defeat the strong with the weak? What excuse do you have now?"

The leader of the Green Robe Sect calmly said:

"Please examine the sword in your hand, Master Shangguan, before you speak!"

The sword in Shangguan Chuxiong's hand immediately became the focus of everyone's attention. "Wow!" Then everyone exclaimed in surprise!

All that could be seen in Shangguan Chuxiong's hand was a sword with an iron hilt, while his disciple's bronze sword remained intact. Everyone suddenly realized that it wasn't the sword that had injured them, but rather their master's internal energy.

"Now, is there anyone willing to come up and test this so-called evidence?" the leader of the Green Robe Cult pressed on while the iron was hot.

"Me too!" "Me too!"...

Needless to say, the test results proved that those swords did not share the same characteristics as the swords of the Green Robe Cult. The leader of the Green Robe Cult then rejected all the evidence presented on the stage. Thus, the only remaining evidence to prove the Green Robe Cult's connection to those tragedies was eyewitness testimony.

Everyone knows that members of the Green Robe Sect have their insignia tattooed on their shoulders. That insignia is something outsiders cannot imitate or erase. Since it's one of their own, the Green Robe Sect members are insisting they are among the murderers involved in those cases. Even if the Green Robe Sect leader had a hundred mouths, he couldn't clear his name! Thinking this, Shangguan Chuxiong's worries about the Green Robe Sect leader's sudden appearance and disruption vanished. A smug smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

If he knew that his every move, even a single glance, was being watched by the eagle eyes on the opposite mountain, he certainly wouldn't have shown this expression!

Suddenly, the snowflakes falling from the sky stopped. The biting, icy wind dispersed the dark clouds. The sun finally peeked out with a warm smile, instantly shining its light upon the snow-covered land, its clear light illuminating everything on earth.

The person in the tree finally prepared to take the stage. She adjusted her pure white attire, identical to that of Longmen. The difference was that she wore a white silk belted skirt over a matching light gauze robe with flowing sleeves. She wore white knee-high leather boots. A white ribbon tied her hair at the top of her head, the ribbon and her cascading black hair flowing naturally down her back in the wind. Her unadorned face was as warm as the newly risen sun, radiating youthful vitality. Her exquisitely sculpted features made her seem otherworldly.

With a flick of her arm, she soared away like a white crane riding the wind, instantly appearing in the sight of everyone in the arena. Amidst the gasps of astonishment, she gracefully spun through the air and gently floated down to the center of the stage.

In an instant, the entire hall fell silent; not even a breath could be heard. Men, women, young, and old alike were captivated by the breathtakingly beautiful scene of a fairy descending to earth. They forgot to stifle their gasps of amazement, and they forgot to breathe.

A moment later, the first to snap out of their daze were, of course, the three handsome men who had been searching for her the moment they entered. Two white figures flashed, and two more handsome men, also dressed in pure white, appeared on the stage, tightly surrounding the white-clad fairy.

If anyone wasn't interested in the fairy at this moment, they would surely notice that the usually composed and steady Prince Ying was clenching his fists and clenching his teeth, seemingly suppressing something. Did he have a grudge against the fairy? A closer look would reveal Duan Ying in his burning eyes, eyes that could melt the snow on the ground. Seeing her again, the overwhelming joy, the feeling of having regained what was lost, the urge to rush forward and hold her tightly in his arms, was intensely consuming his soul. But because the emperor had ordered that he not acknowledge anyone here, and most importantly, not the one he longed for, he could only endure it!

Suddenly, some sharp-eyed people in the crowd recognized the fairy they had met briefly at the inn in the capital. Exclamations of surprise followed.

"A fairy!"

"She's the fairy who appeared in the capital!"

"Yes, she had a fairy boy with her at the time!"

...

The crowd erupted in commotion, while those on the arena chatted amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings. Two young men in white robes simultaneously questioned the fairy in unfriendly tones:

"Is this the surprise you gave us?"

"You made us wait for three days just for this?"

Xuanyuan and Qingfeng's angry questioning surprised Leng Jie. A thought flashed through her mind. Since she'd already started, she might as well have some fun!

Everyone saw that Fairy You's face showed displeasure. She then spoke loudly and coquettishly to the two Dragon Gate Masters who were questioning her:

"Hey! This is the first time I've dressed up as a woman in front of you all! Are you all so disrespectful? Even if you don't exclaim 'Fairy!' like those people down there, at least pretend to be mesmerized for a moment!"

Upon hearing this, the cries of "Fairy!" from the audience abruptly ceased, followed by everyone fainting! The Dragon Gate members finally recognized the "Fairy" as their revered Third Gate Master. The crowd erupted in unison, shouting...

"Third Sect Master!"

It turned out she was the Third Master of the Dragon Gate, and her attire was indeed identical to that of the Dragon Gate. The crowd suddenly understood. Knowing she was human, not an immortal, they felt a greater sense of closeness to her. The amazement in their eyes only intensified, their burning gazes still fixed on that radiant figure.

Qingfeng Youdi's face darkened, he frowned and stared at Leng Jie, saying softly:

"This is the arena, and thousands of eyes are watching! Stop fooling around. Come down with us and we'll talk."

Although Xuanyuan wore a mask, the cold aura emanating from him clearly revealed that his anger was no less than Qingfeng's. The two exchanged a glance, and without a word, each grabbed one of Leng Jie's arms and prepared to carry her away.

Leng Jie hadn't even begun to implement her purpose for this trip! Of course, she wouldn't go with them. If she really went with them, wouldn't she really become a clown? She wasn't that bored, pretending to be a fairy to entertain a group of people she didn't even know.

If she truly harbored even a slight thought in that regard, she wanted Qingfeng, Xuanyuan, Shiyu, and her brothers from Longmen to remember her beautiful moment. After all, they were acquaintances she knew in this unfamiliar world. Letting them see her true face before they left would at least leave them with no regrets!

But seeing Qingfeng and Xuanyuan's attitude, Leng Jie felt that her kindness seemed somewhat superfluous. They didn't care about her appearance at all, or perhaps they were more used to her dressing as a man!

With a swift movement, Leng Jie easily shook off the two of them. She leaped past the bewildered Shangguan Chuxiong and the still composed Qingyi Sect Leader, landing before Shi Yu on the platform. She clasped her hands in a respectful greeting and said:

"This must be the wise and mighty Prince Ying! I am the Third Master of the Dragon Gate. Greetings, Prime Minister!"

Shi Yu was overjoyed and didn't care whether her inexplicable etiquette was proper or not. He couldn't help but get up and go to greet her. Leng Jie took the opportunity to slip him a crumpled piece of paper and gave him a wink, signaling him to sit back down. Shi Yu immediately composed himself and pretended not to know her, saying:

"Third Sect Master, please speak frankly if you have something to say!"

Leng Jie clasped her hands in thanks to Shi Yu once again!

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Then, turning to the audience below, he said solemnly, "You've all heard of the Green Robe Sect from the capital, haven't you? But I bet not many people know why I'm being hunted down. Since I'm fortunate enough to meet the leader of the Green Robe Sect here today, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask him?"

Leng Jie turned to the leader of the Qing Cult and asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what was the reason you pursued and killed my brother and me?"