“!?
Mei Qinghe was so shocked by Liu Baiyun’s answer that she couldn’t speak.
Who!?
Plum Blossom Bandit!?
Even with Mei Qinghe’s wildest imagination, she couldn’t connect this matter to him!
Liu Baiyun spoke, “Fifteen years ago, I found you in the mountains and brought you back to Mount Hua Sect.”
“Have you ever wondered why I, from Mount Hua Sect, which is near the western border of Great Shuo, would appear in Qi-Lu Region?”
“In the wilderness, with no one around, and not near any villages, towns, or roads. How could I have coincidentally run into you?”
Mei Qinghe had never thought about this question, only feeling it was her destiny with Liu Baiyun. But now that Liu Baiyun mentioned it, she immediately reacted.
That’s right, Qi-Lu and Mount Hua are on the eastern and western sides of Great Shuo’s territory, and she was in an uninhabited mountain forest. How could Liu Baiyun have coincidentally appeared there?
No matter how coincidental, if she didn’t know beforehand, why would Liu Baiyun go to that desolate mountain forest?
“Do you know why I agreed to the Jinyiwei Commander so quickly just now?”
Mei Qinghe was stunned again.
Yes, Liu Baiyun was not a weak person. Serving the imperial court meant cutting ties with fellow martial artists, and even the sect’s legacy might be taken over by the imperial court.
Even if it was out of necessity, why would Liu Baiyun agree so readily? It was as if—she had already planned it in her heart.
Liu Baiyun didn’t keep her in suspense and said directly, “Because I was also afraid.”
“More afraid than Zuo Lishan, and afraid earlier than Mount Tai Sect.”
“Because, if we’re talking about colluding with the Ming Cult… my Mount Hua Sect is the one sticking its neck out.”
“As early as fifteen years ago… I had already colluded with the Ming Cult…”
“Drinking poison to quench thirst, seeking gain from a tiger, how could it last… Joining the imperial court was one of the methods I had envisioned to preserve Mount Hua Sect.”
Liu Baiyun recounted slowly.
“Fifteen years ago, it was someone from the Ming Cult who brought the Plum Blossom Bandit to me, gave me a Mount Hua inner cultivation method revised by the Plum Blossom Bandit, which allowed for faster progress, and a disciple with even greater talent than mine.”
“That’s how I was able to find you.”
Mei Qinghe stared fixedly into Liu Baiyun’s eyes.
She only felt that her master, who had rescued her from the mountain forest and raised her, had become so unfamiliar at this moment.
Was she a gift from her mother’s killer to her master? If everything was not fate, but calculations and schemes, then could the master-disciple relationship of these past ten-odd years… still be real?
How should she compose herself?
After a long while, Mei Qinghe said hoarsely, “Master… please explain this matter clearly to me…”
Liu Baiyun sighed again and began to tell the story from the beginning.
The decline of Mount Hua Sect did not begin after Zuo Lishan took power; signs had already appeared fifteen years ago. Otherwise, Zuo Lishan would not have chosen Mount Hua Sect as his target for suppression from the start.
At that time, Liu Baiyun, due to insufficient aptitude, had only just reached the level of a first-rate master. Mount Hua Sect was facing a shortage of new talent, and apart from Liu Baiyun, there were no other masters to hold the fort.
It was precarious.
One day, a middle-aged man came to visit the sect, saying he wanted to give Mount Hua Sect a great gift and wished to speak privately with Liu Baiyun.
After everyone else withdrew, the man revealed his identity to Liu Baiyun—he was the Ming Cult’s Left Emissary, Lan Lechuan.
The Ming Cult Leader, Ji Tianrui, had been annihilated by the Jinyiwei in Miao Frontier, and most of the Ming Cult’s masters were lost, leaving the Ming Cult in a precarious state as well.
To evade the imperial court’s pursuit, the Ming Cult needed a sect’s territory to hide and provide cover. Mount Hua Sect, located on the border and far from the imperial court, had suitable prestige and territory, and was itself in a precarious state, making it the most suitable target.
Liu Baiyun naturally refused at first; colluding with the Ming Cult was too dangerous and could easily incur the imperial court’s hostility. Although Mount Hua Sect was not in good shape at the time, it hadn’t reached the point of being wiped out, so there was no need to get involved in the Ming Cult’s mess.
However, if words failed, there were still fists.
Lan Lechuan, the Ming Cult’s Left Emissary, was an unparalleled master. Apart from the Cult Leader Ji Tianrui, he was the strongest in the Ming Cult.
Mount Hua Sect at that time only had Liu Baiyun as a first-rate master, powerless to resist. After being subdued by Lan Lechuan, a handle was left, and she could only cooperate.
Later, Lan Lechuan said he needed Liu Baiyun to go with him to Shuntian Prefecture for an important matter. Liu Baiyun had no choice but to accompany him eastward to Shuntian Prefecture.
When the two reached Qi-Lu Region, Lan Lechuan met a person who told him that the matter in Shuntian Prefecture had been discovered by the Jinyiwei and exposed. All surviving personnel had already withdrawn.
Thus, Lan Lechuan and Liu Baiyun no longer had a reason to go to Shuntian Prefecture.
Lan Lechuan told Liu Baiyun that he needed to meet someone in this Qi-Lu Region—whose title was “Plum Blossom Bandit.”
This person was extremely important to the Ming Cult and could not afford any mishaps.
So the two came to Jizhou Prefecture and found the Plum Blossom Bandit.
It was at this moment that the Plum Blossom Bandit handed Liu Baiyun the revised inner cultivation method and informed her of Mei Qinghe’s location.
He said with a smile that although the Ming Cult’s plans in both Miao Frontier and Shuntian Prefecture had failed, and most of their personnel were gone, they no longer needed to borrow Mount Hua Sect’s territory. However, there would always be times when Mount Hua Sect would be useful in the future, and this was a gift he had prepared in advance, asking Liu Baiyun to accept it.
This led to Mei Qinghe being brought back to Mount Hua Sect, achieving mastery in martial arts, going down the mountain to seek revenge, and encountering Li Miao.
“Plum Blossom Bandit, real name Yun Zelin. He was born with extremely poor bone structure, making it difficult for him to advance in martial arts. He was only at the third-rate level in his twenties.”
“But his comprehension can be said to be unprecedented and unparalleled. He can even be compared to the legendary Patriarch Damo.”
“He could casually create a martial art for a third-rate sect, and he could also revise my Mount Hua Sect’s martial arts, bringing forth new ideas.”
“He had already joined the Ming Cult. After the failure of the Shuntian Prefecture incident, he fled to Qi-Lu. He discovered that you had excellent aptitude, so he deliberately committed the act of torturing and killing your mother back then.”
“Firstly, he used Zhao Dehua to conceal his true purpose. Even if exposed, the attention of those in the know would be on Zhao Dehua, mistakenly believing that Zhao Dehua was his chosen successor in a hurry, and they wouldn’t notice you, who was only five years old at the time.”
“Secondly… he deliberately tortured and killed your mother in front of you, so that your temperament would better suit the martial art he revised.”
Liu Baiyun sighed, “They both left then, and only then did I go into the mountain forest to find you and bring you back to Mount Hua Sect.”
“My comprehension is decent, but compared to Yun Zelin, it’s like heaven and earth. I failed to discover the problem within that martial art.”
“And at that time, Mount Hua Sect was facing a shortage of new talent, and I was eager for quick results, so I passed on this faster-progressing martial art to you.”
“A few years later, I discovered that your temperament was becoming increasingly rigid and extreme. But by then, your internal cultivation was already established, and with my power, I couldn’t oversee your transition to another internal cultivation method.”
“Only then did I think that after you reached the pinnacle of martial arts, I would tell you the truth of that year. By then, your internal cultivation would be complete, and with your talent, you could naturally switch to other martial arts. If you wanted to seek revenge on Yun Zelin, without a peak realm, I feared you wouldn’t be able to break through the protection of the Ming Cult’s masters.”
The hilt of the sword in Mei Qinghe’s hand was creaking from her tight grip.
“So… the Plum Blossom Bandit is still alive?”
Liu Baiyun nodded, “Alive. Back then, he left countless traces of faked death, with martial arts and successors.”
“Although I didn’t see it with my own eyes, the one who died so carelessly at the hands of the Jinyiwei back then was definitely not him; it must have just been a similar-looking substitute.”
“Now… he should still be in the Ming Cult, and given how much Lan Lechuan valued him back then, his position in the Ming Cult should not be low now. Even his bone structure might have been improved by the Ming Cult’s methods and rare treasures.”
“With his comprehension, if there were no limitations on his bone structure, his martial arts progress would likely be by leaps and bounds. After fifteen years, I don’t know what level he has reached now.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Qinghe closed her eyes.
She only felt that her entire life was a huge joke.
Li Miao, however, nodded in the private room upstairs, thinking, “Heh heh… Plum Blossom Bandit, Yun Zelin…”
“I really misjudged back then, only focusing on killing those with high martial arts, and missed such a person.”
“It all connects, it all connects.”
The world is vast, and gossip is the greatest. He didn’t have such high moral standards to truly let this master and disciple finish their story behind his back.
Although they said they were eating separately, and Gao Ling wasn’t speaking, he naturally couldn’t help but use his ear-listening skill to hear Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun’s conversation. And Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun would never have thought that through several layers of doors, Li Miao’s ear-listening skill could hear their conversation crystal clear.
At this moment, Li Miao completed the final piece of the puzzle—connecting all the encounters he had since entering Qi-Lu.
Even he himself was involved.
Fifteen years ago, Ji Tianrui, the leader of the Ming Cult, entered Miaojiang and, by combining with Witchcraft, created the cultivation method practiced by Zuo Lishan.
The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) received the news and all personnel went south to Miaojiang to eliminate Ji Tianrui.
Seeing that their plans were exposed, the Ming Cult experts decided to split into two groups: one went to Miaojiang to support Ji Tianrui, while the other, carrying the Witchcraft methods researched by Ji Tianrui and Witchcraft experts from Miaojiang, headed to Shuntian Prefecture, hoping to take advantage of the Jinyiwei's presence in Miaojiang and the resulting lax defenses to execute a major plan.
As Commander Zhu Zai’s trusted subordinate, Li Miao took on the task of eliminating the group of Ming Cult experts heading to Shuntian Prefecture and rescued Xiao Si from the hands of the Miaojiang Grand Witch.
After a fierce battle, Li Miao was critically wounded and near death, and most of the Ming Cult members were killed or injured, but the Plum Blossom Bandit, whose martial arts were not conspicuous, managed to escape.
It was because of this incident that Li Miao was promoted to Jinyiwei Commander, forcing Zhu Zai to sign the “eight-hour workday” labor contract, and officially began to unscrupulously use his golden finger to practice martial arts.
In Miaojiang, the Jinyiwei achieved a complete victory, and the Ming Cult members either died or fled, with Lan Lechuan, the Left Emissary of the Ming Cult, being one of the survivors.
The Ming Cult suffered a heavy blow and needed a place to recuperate and hide their tracks, so Lan Lechuan chose the Mount Hua Sect, and after some threats and inducements, left Liu Baiyun with leverage, forcing her to comply.
Subsequently, Lan Lechuan took Liu Baiyun to Shuntian Prefecture, preparing to support the Shuntian Prefecture plan.
Upon reaching Qi-Lu, he received news that Li Miao had foiled the Ming Cult's plans in Shuntian Prefecture, and that many of their experts were almost completely annihilated. So he diverted to Jizhou Prefecture in Qi-Lu to rendezvous with the Plum Blossom Bandit.
The Plum Blossom Bandit received the news and learned that the Mount Hua Sect had already defected to the Ming Cult, so he began to revise his cultivation method.
He sought out Mei Qinghe, brutally murdered her mother, leaving a mark on Mei Qinghe's character, making her more suitable for the disposition required by his revised cultivation method.
As an aside, he also taught Zhao Dehua his claw techniques, creating the illusion that he was leaving behind a successor because he couldn't escape the Jinyiwei's pursuit. This served as a cover for his plan to fake his death and escape.
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The internal energy and lightness skill obtained by You Zi'ang were also part of his plan to fake his death and escape. His body double must have cultivated that internal energy to have the exact same birthmark as the Plum Blossom Bandit.
Twelve years ago, the Plum Blossom Bandit's body double was discovered and killed by the Jinyiwei. The body was transported to Shuntian Prefecture. His fake death plan succeeded.
Eleven years ago, because the Jinyiwei had slaughtered almost all of the Miaojiang Witchcraft experts, the villages that raised insanity no longer dared to contact the Central Plains, becoming even more isolated. This led Ge Pu Shi to fantasize about the Central Plains, so she escaped her village and came to Pingshan Garrison, becoming Wu Yuanwai's concubine.
Five years ago, the Ming Cult colluded with Zuo Lishan, giving him the insanity worms and the cultivation method created by Ji Tianrui back then.
Time comes to the present.
The Jinyiwei received news that Zuo Lishan was colluding with the Ming Cult, and Li Miao took on the assignment, coming to Qi-Lu.
Mei Qinghe, having received news that the Plum Blossom Bandit had been killed by the Jinyiwei, had to come to Qi-Lu to seek revenge on Zhao Dehua, where she met Li Miao, who had taken on the assignment.
Li Miao killed Ge Pu Shi, who had escaped from Miaojiang.
Li Miao severely wounded Zuo Lishan, forcing him to begin cultivating the martial art given to him by the Ming Cult.
Liu Baiyun, having been left with leverage by the Ming Cult back then, had been constantly worried, so she immediately agreed to serve the imperial court, thereby eliminating the hidden danger of her collusion with the Ming Cult.
Everything Li Miao experienced after coming to Qi-Lu—Mei Qinghe, Liu Baiyun, Zuo Lishan, You Zi'ang, Xiao Si, Ge Pu Shi, Zhao Dehua.
Witchcraft, evil cultivation, grudges.
Mount Tai Sect, Mount Hua Sect, Five Mountains Sword Sect, Jinyiwei, Ming Cult.
Everything, at this moment, was connected by one person.
Plum Blossom Bandit, Yun Zelin.
Li Miao chuckled softly, revealing his stark white teeth, and a deep, heavy killing intent escaped. Gao Ling, sitting beside him, felt a chill run through her body, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, feeling like a lamb held in the mouth of a beast, even the circulation of her true qi seemed to freeze.
“Good, good, good.”
“I underestimated you back then, thinking I only let a small fish slip away, but I didn't expect you to be someone important!”
“After escaping from my hands, you’ve done so much. I can’t even pretend not to see it.”
“After resolving the matter of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, I will personally come to find you…”
“I hope you’re still alive…”
Gao Ling trembled, not knowing why Li Miao revealed such killing intent, nor where such pure, heavy killing intent came from, she could only lower her head to her chest, not daring to look at Li Miao.
On Mei Qinghe's side, after listening to Liu Baiyun's words, an abnormal flush appeared on her face.
Pfft—
She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering it on the ground.
She was already at a critical juncture in her cultivation method's transition, making her highly susceptible to qi deviation, and hearing about her background, she felt that her entire life was merely a plaything in the Plum Blossom Bandit's hands, a complete joke. How could she remain calm?
At this moment, anger rushed to her heart, and she immediately showed signs of qi deviation, her true qi went astray, damaging her heart meridians, and a mouthful of blood spewed out.
“Qinghe!” Liu Baiyun rushed forward, wanting to help Mei Qinghe up.
But Mei Qinghe stopped her with a raised hand.
“Master!” Mei Qinghe wiped the blood from her mouth.
“My heart is in turmoil, I don't know how to treat Master…”
“At this moment, I’m already experiencing qi deviation, and my mental state is unstable. That beast’s cultivation method inherently makes my temperament extreme, please don’t come close, otherwise, your disciple… fears she might harm you…”
Liu Baiyun only then realized that Mei Qinghe's hand, gripping the sword hilt, was already bleeding from the excessive force.
Mei Qinghe closed her eyes and tried to regulate her breathing for a moment, then let out a long sigh, though a trickle of blood still flowed from the corner of her mouth.
“Master, please return to your room to rest…”
“Your kindness in saving my life and raising me, Qinghe dares not forget. Every single thing over these fifteen years, Qinghe remembers in her heart.”
“It's just… that my survival was the result of a scheme between my mother's killer and Master, and my mother's tragic death was because I became a gift for the Mount Hua Sect… For a moment, I don't know how to face you, how to face the Mount Hua Sect, how to face my mother's spirit in heaven…”
“Even the cultivation method I’ve painstakingly practiced for over a decade is that beast’s doing… Qinghe truly doesn’t know how to compose herself…”
“My heart is in turmoil… Master…”
“Let Qinghe be quiet for a while… Just be quiet…”
Liu Baiyun looked at Mei Qinghe and sighed deeply.
With a lift of her hand, she drew her sword from its sheath and directly slashed at her left forearm.
Puchi—
Blood gushed out, and Liu Baiyun's arm fell with a thud, landing on the ground.
“Master!?”
Mei Qinghe couldn't stop her in time, desperately got up and rushed forward, pressing Liu Baiyun's acupoints to stop the bleeding: “Qinghe has never resented Master! What are you doing!?”
Liu Baiyun looked down at Mei Qinghe’s tear-streaked face and gently pulled her into her embrace with her right hand.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing… Master practices right-handed swordplay, even without the left hand, I’m still a first-class expert…”
“Qinghe, what happened back then, in the end, it was my Mount Hua Sect, it was I, Liu Baiyun, who owed your mother and you…”
“In the future, if you want to go to the Ming Cult to seek revenge, Master will go with you…”
“Don’t let me, your Master, leave a flaw in your mental state. If your mental state is incomplete, your martial arts will be difficult to achieve perfection, how then will you seek revenge on that beast…”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing… A mere minor injury, I am the White Cloud Sword after all…”
“Let’s just leave it at that for now… Help me sit down…”
Mei Qinghe wept uncontrollably at this moment, helping Liu Baiyun sit down. Her heart was filled with regret, and she simply hugged Liu Baiyun with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
Liu Baiyun's face was pale, but she smiled gently, stroking Mei Qinghe's hair.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open.
Li Miao slowly walked in, sizing up the embracing Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun, and chuckled, “Finished talking?”
“Really, it’s the first time I’ve seen a mother and daughter chat result in self-mutilation. I’ve learned something new today.”
He then extended his hand into a claw, and with a suction of true qi, drew the severed arm from the ground into his hand. He walked in front of the two and said with a smile to Mei Qinghe.
“You should be secretly happy that you ran into me.”
“Come, come, Little Mei, move aside a bit.”
“Any later, and this arm won't be able to be reattached.”