Yang Lixuan.
That name had disappeared from the martial arts world for thirty years. By the time Li Miao arrived in Great Shuo, he was already dead.
If it weren't for Ji Tianrui, Li Miao wouldn't have carefully read the Ming Cult's archives, even going through the old ones, and would likely not have been able to recall that name today.
In this martial arts world, people and reputations vanish very quickly.
A year after death, people gradually stop talking about them. Ten years after death, their name is forgotten.
Reputations in the martial arts world are spread by word of mouth; very few are written down on paper or archived. Yang Lixuan had been dead for thirty years, and Li Miao only knew his name because of the convenience of being in the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).
Returning to Yang Lixuan, this man was a very standard "Demon Cult Leader."
He had never done a single good deed in his life; he was either committing massacres or on his way to commit one.
Even when he was in the restroom, he was thinking about whose family to wipe out that day.
The Mongols had a method for dealing with captives: kill anyone taller than a cartwheel. He also knew this trick, except he would first push the cartwheel down, lay it flat on the ground, and then compare heights.
When the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) massacred a family, it was like splitting an earthworm vertically. But if they fell into his hands, they would be "fancy cut."
If not for that, thirty years ago, he wouldn't have provoked the Five Great Factions—Shaolin, Wudang, Emei Sect, Kunlun, and Kongtong—to besiege the Ming Cult's main altar and kill him. Nor would there have been the later incident of Ji Tianrui single-handedly resisting the Five Great Factions and becoming the Ming Cult Leader.
After the trip to the Miao King's Tomb, Li Miao had already made some guesses about Ji Tianrui's identity.
As a descendant of a person directly involved when Ji Tianrui first emerged, Yang Yueze might know Ji Tianrui's origins.
When Li Miao said this, Yang Yueze fell silent.
Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Li Miao chuckled.
"If you want to be a hard bone, then hold out until you die."
"You've already said what you needed to say, suffered, and had your martial arts crippled. What's the point of holding out now? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
These words were so reasonable that Yang Yueze couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Who are you, sir? With such martial arts, why do you have no name in the martial arts world?"
"If I had known you were here, I would never have come to Shaolin."
He clearly understood that he was already half-crippled, and revenge was hopeless. Moreover, his life and death were now in Li Miao's hands.
He could only hope that Li Miao truly had a grudge against Ji Tianrui.
Thinking of this, Yang Yueze no longer remained silent and told Li Miao everything, from beginning to end.
This telling took half an hour.
After listening to him, Li Miao sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, twirling his fingers and pondering deeply.
"Your grandfather's death back then was indeed a bit strange."
Yang Yueze snorted coldly.
"With so many people from the Five Great Factions coming, how could my grandfather not have received news? If he wasn't prepared, he could have just escaped. If Ji Tianrui hadn't secretly poisoned him, forcing my grandfather to stay and circulate his energy to expel the poison, and then use his weakened body to fight against the masters of the Five Great Factions, how could he have died so easily?"
"After my grandfather died, Ji Tianrui began to purge his trusted aides. If my grandfather hadn't vaguely sensed something amiss after being poisoned and sent my parents away in advance, I wouldn't be here today."
Li Miao then said,
"But, Ji Tianrui poisoned your grandfather, yet it was the masters of the Five Great Factions who killed him."
"Master Xing Chi was also one of them."
"But how is it that you seem to bear no ill will towards him?"
Yang Yueze composed himself and said,
"Once you enter the martial arts world, life and death are the boundaries."
"My grandfather was not a good person, and he was prepared to die at the hands of others."
"We, the Yang Family, take responsibility for the consequences of our good or evil deeds. We won't be like those hypocrites who do things and then find countless excuses to whitewash them."
"Although the Five Great Factions used a relay battle that day, it was open and aboveboard, with one-on-one combat. My grandfather died content."
"If Xing Chi ever falls into my hands, I will definitely kill him. But his revenge can be taken or not taken."
At this point, Yang Yueze gritted his teeth.
"Only Ji Tianrui, that bastard Ji Tianrui!"
"He used despicable methods like poisoning to secretly harm my grandfather, usurp the Ming Cult, and make my grandfather die an unclear death! In his last battle before death, he couldn't even use seventy percent of his power! He simply became a laughingstock in the martial arts world!"
"He died with his eyes wide open in indignation!"
"This revenge, we of the Yang Family will definitely take!"
Yang Yueze said this fiercely, intending to continue cursing Ji Tianrui.
Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes sweeping over his crippled lower body.
Suddenly, his eyes turned red, and veins bulged on his neck.
"Sir, I've said everything I need to say. Now I only ask for a quick death!"
Li Miao raised an eyebrow, looking at him strangely.
"You've suffered, and you've spoken. Why do you suddenly want to die again?"
"You are still useful. I can spare your life."
Yang Yueze, however, was momentarily enraged and said sharply,
"Sir, I truly don't want to live anymore!"
"Please, I beg you, sir. Today I provoked you, and you've had your vent. We should be even."
In the "one-by-one, no mistakes" version!
"Now I only ask you to make a move and kill me! I have notes about Ji Tianrui that I usually keep in my pocket; you can take them. Besides that, I really am useless to you!"
However, the more he said this, the less Li Miao wanted to act.
Matters related to the Ming Cult often involved Witchcraft.
Death, on the other hand, often had other plans.
Seeing Li Miao hesitate, Yang Yueze became more anxious.
"Sir, do you perhaps think I am a good person?"
"Although I don't frequent the martial arts world much, in recent years I have indeed killed many good people, and you should have heard of it! The Sun Family in North Zhili, the Wang Family in Qi-Lu, the Qi Family and Zhou Family in Huguan—these were all bloody cases I committed. I showed no mercy to the old, young, women, or children; they all died extremely tragically."
"You don't have to worry about mistakenly killing a good person. You would be acting on behalf of Heaven, and I would have no complaints!"
The things he spoke of were all famous unsolved cases in the martial arts world in recent years, and Li Miao had heard of them, so it seemed his words were not false.
However, Li Miao still said calmly,
"Unless you clearly state your sudden reason for seeking death, I will not act."
"Your Ming Cult has too many tricks. I am a guest; what if something unclean emerges from your corpse? How would I explain that to Shaolin?"
At Li Miao's words, Yang Yueze fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, tears streamed down his face.
"I... I have no feeling in my lower body..."
"I'm going to lose control of my bladder."
Yang Yueze looked at Li Miao, his eyes red.
"We of the Yang Family can commit evil, and we can die, but we cannot be humiliated."
"I cannot tarnish the name of my Yang Family."
"Sir, kill me."
"Just consider it my plea to you!"
Li Miao glanced at his lower body and, indeed, faint dampness was already seeping through.
"Alright."
He raised a hand, and a sharp burst of true energy shot out, piercing Yang Yueze's heart.
"Dying by your Ming Cult's Xuantian Finger, you can rest in peace."
Yang Yueze clutched his chest, his lips moving.
"Thank... you..."
"Ji... Tianrui..."
Li Miao looked at him and said,
"I will send him down there. Just wait for it."
Yang Yueze nodded, then collapsed with a thud, losing all signs of life.