Chapter 59
It stunned Han Changsheng . He had restrained his breath . According to Liu Xiaoqi’s martial arts, he shouldn’t have been found . Moreover, his current face wasn’t Li Jiulong’s face . His skill with disguise could even deceive those he grew up with . Even if Liu Xiaoqi’s night vision was good enough to see him, he shouldn’t recognize him . How did he do it so quickly?
Liu Xiaoqi tightly closed the door and whispered, “Elder martial brother, you are… By the table?”
Han Changsheng was even more surprised . Did Liu Xiaoqi really see him?
Liu Xiaoqi touched the bedside and sat down . Faced with Han Changsheng’s silence, he was astringent . “I can smell you,” He whispered .
Han Changsheng only then realized it . He almost forgot Liu Xiaoqi’s extraordinary sense of smell . In the beginning, he smelled the Yin and Yang twins and discovered their actual identities . When anyone entered a room, he immediately identified them by their scent .
Han Changsheng gave up holding his breath and went to Liu Xiaoqi . “Xiaoqi, it’s me . ”
“Elder martial brother,” Liu Xiaoqi whispered, “Where have you been the past few months? Is the second senior brother with you? You just disappeared! The sect head is crazy about finding you!”
“Something happened,” Han Changsheng said, “An Yuan and I left for a while . Xiaoqi, were you practicing your sword just now?”
Liu Xiaoqi was stiff for a moment, then sighed, “You see, senior brother… . ” After a beat of silence, he whispered, “When I was a child, I learned from my father . I just couldn’t sleep, so I got up to practice . ”
He lied .
Han Changsheng already knew he was from the Xiu Daomen sect . Even Han Changsheng knew nothing . He saw the effort to sneakily hide his sword . It was clear he was in no hurry .
“What is your relationship with the Xiu Daomen?” Han Changsheng asked .
In the darkness, Han Changsheng couldn’t see Liu Xiaoqi’s expression, but he could feel obvious nervousness and confusion from Liu Xiaoqi’s breath .
“What… What do you mean, elder martial brother?”
Sitting down beside him, Han Changsheng patted his shoulder . “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you . I just need to ask you something . You’re from the Xiu Daomen sect, aren’t you? How did you transfer to the Yuehua sect?”
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He always had doubts on Liu Xiaoqi . It was a little late to start practicing martial arts at Liu Xiaoqi’s age as a brand new disciple . Besides that, Liu Xiaoqi used to learn to fight with a sword . Even if he transferred to another sect, he should have kept up his studies in a sword sect . Why did he join the Yuehua Sect?
Liu Xiaoqi was unwilling to answer the question . Vaguely, he said, “I practice in the middle of the night . ”
Shifting the conversation again, he went on, “Elder martial brother, where did you and the second elder martial brother go while you were gone? What happened to old man Xuanji and Elder Lan Fang?”
Speaking of the elders, it also puzzled Han Changsheng . “I don’t know what happened . They were fine when I left . What happened to the Yuehua Sect after I left?”
Liu Xiaoqi listened to him and was pleased with his answer . “I knew it had nothing to do with Da Shixiong . How could you harm someone!”
“A few months ago, the elder martial brother and the second elder martial brother disappeared . We looked all over the Yuehua mountain, but we couldn’t find you . Some people doubted whether you were in Elder Lan Fang’s place, but Elder Lan Fang ordered that no one should disturb him . ”
“After a few days, the headmaster was worried about you, so he went behind the mountain . After that, it was discovered that both old man Xuanji and Elder Lan Fang had passed on . Old man Xuanji was haggard . Before he died, his internal power was drained . Elder Lan Fang’s Longyin sword was gone, and you two were still missing . ”
“Everyone said you two must have stolen the sword, and that you two probably had something to do with old man Xuanji losing his internal power . So, the leader immediately sent a message to all the Wulin sects to help find you . ”
Han Changsheng frowned . Before Old man Xuanji’s death, the old man finally decided to see Lan Fang again . Maybe it was the timing, or Lan Fang died in order to save old man Xuanji . In a word, it happened that he and An Yuan left the Yuehua mountain, resulting in such a bad ending .
“Da Shixiong,” Liu Xiaoqi said, “Are you going to come back with a second martial brother?”
“Not for the moment,” Han Changsheng said, “We have other things to do . ”
“The Longyin sword… . ” Liu Xiaoqi trailed off .
“I have it,” Han Changsheng said, “But Elder Lan Fang gave it to me by his own hand . I didn’t expect that things would turn out like this . ”
“Elder martial brother, I believe you!” Liu Xiaoqi insisted .
Han Changsheng recalled that he came to the mountain to investigate Huangfu Tugen’s murder, besides the circumstances with old man Xuanji and Elder Lan Fang . So he changed the topic again . “Xiaoqi, have you ever heard of the Tianyuan villa?”
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Liu Xiaoqi’s breathing sounded stiff . “No . No, what’s the Tianyuan villa?”
In the darkness, Han Changsheng couldn’t see Liu Xiaoqi’s reaction, but from his breath, he could tell Xiaoqi was lying . He definitely knew of the Tianyuan villa; Han Changsheng suspected he knew more than he let on . Liu Xiaoqi was only sixteen years old . When Huangfu Tugen died, he was only a year old, but that didn’t mean he knew nothing . His reaction was probably related to the Xiu Daomen .
Han Changsheng asked, “How many people are in the Xiu Daomen?”
Liu Xiaoqi was silent for a long time . Finally, he said, “Elder martial brother, why do you ask me these questions? Weren’t the Xiu Daomen killed off eight years ago?”
Han Changsheng was so shocked he almost jumped to his feet . The Xiu Daomen were killed off eight years ago?!
The Xiu Daomen was just a small sect, and Han Changsheng only knew a little about it . Every year, new sects were established in the Jianghu, and many small sects were difficult to maintain and ended up disbanding . Therefore, Han Changsheng hadn’t heard of this .
“Killed off? Such a thing happened?! Who did it!?” Han Changsheng cried .
Hissing, Liu Xiaoqi signaled to Han Changsheng to quiet down to avoid waking anyone up with his shouting . Then, he whispered, “Eight years ago, the Xiu Daomen had a conflict with nearby bandits, and the bandits killed everyone . ”
Han Changsheng was shocked speechless .
Eight years ago, Liu Xiaoqi would have only been eight . He was lucky just to escape, and must’ve had a hard time since then . Somehow, he got involved with the Yuehua Sect .
But, if everyone in the Xiu Daomen was killed, it would be tough . He finally found a clue, yet here he was . Huangfu Tugen’s death should be related to them, but they were all dead . What was the point of his investigation? Liu Xiaoqi, who was a child at the time, could never settle accounts with him . But, if the Xiu Daomen were the murderers, who harmed the Mingyue Sect? It was impossible for a dead person to kill, wasn’t it?
“Were there any survivors from the Xiu Daomen?” Han Changsheng asked .
Liu Xiaoqi’s tone was blunt, as if the question had hurt him, and replied unhappily . “No . ”
He was concealing something, but Han Changsheng couldn’t ask what it was . He had to have more clues, or he had to try to open Liu Xiaoqi’s heart to him .
The night outside was deep, and Han Changsheng finally rose . “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay . I’ll go first . Don’t tell others that I was here today . ”
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Liu Xiaoqi nodded . Then, realizing Han Changsheng might not be able to see him, he hurriedly said, “I know . ”
After a pause, Liu Xiaoqi whispered, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw tonight, either . ”
Stunned, Han Changsheng immediately knew he was talking about his practicing . With a smile, he said, “Who would I tell? But, you’re brave enough, what would you do if someone found out?”
“I can smell if someone comes near,” Liu Xiaoqi said, “The elder martial brother’s movement was too light to carry the wind, so if it’s someone else, I’ll know even faster . ”
Han Changsheng shrugged and said, “You can count on it . I’ll go now, but think about whether there is anything else you want to tell me . I will come to you again . I hope you can recall something . ”
Liu Xiaoqi hesitated for a while, then gave a little “en” .
Han Changsheng didn’t want to stay any longer and felt his way out of the room . After he left Liu Xiaoqi, he didn’t immediately leave the Yuehua mountain, but went to the Peach Blossom Valley behind it .
It was originally a forbidden area, where Elder Lan Fang had practiced for decades, and where his and old man Xuanji’s bodies were found . Their bodies wouldn’t be there anymore, but he wanted to have a look . Maybe he could find a clue .
Han Changsheng moved softly and quietly toward the Peach Blossom Valley .
The night was very dark, and the valley silent, reminding him of the first time he came there . It was also such a dark night that when the old man attacked him, he was at a loss . Later, he didn’t know what medicine the old man took wrong, being so insisting on accepting him as a direct disciple, then keeping him at the bottom of the valley for a few days . That was when he gave him the sword, which was very good for roasting rabbit and pheasant .
But, this time, the old man was gone .
Suddenly, Han Changsheng tensed .
Someone was in the valley! He could feel their breath!
His first reaction was to hide . After all, he had sneaked into the valley very quietly . They probably didn’t know he was there . And, if he was found, he would be in a lot of trouble . However, he couldn’t resist his curiosity and refused to leave .
Who would come there at midnight? Did it have something to do with the two old men?
Converging his breath, Han Changsheng walked carefully towards the valley .
After a while, he saw a figure sitting in the place where Elder Lan Fang often sat in the dark, meditating .
Han Changsheng wasn’t sure if the man felt his approach, but he suddenly opened his eyes . In the dark, he saw a pair of dazzling eyes, looking straight at him .
Immediately, Han Changsheng suspected he’d been seen .
Taking the initiative, he touched his sword and shouted, “Who are you!?”
Suddenly, the man pounced on Han Changsheng!
It shocked Han Changsheng . The guy’s martial arts were so strong and his movements were so fast that he didn’t even see how he did it . In a moment, he had already jumped in front of him! Han Changsheng drew his sword completely subconsciously and stabbed at him, but the man swept away from the blade .
He didn’t come up again, but stood a few steps away, staring at him . The fire in his gaze made Han Changsheng think he would pounce on him any moment! He emerged from a cold sweat, tightly grasping the Longyin sword in his hand .
Was the guy looking at him or the sword? Han Changsheng was uncertain, seeing how the man moved . He thought he might not have been the man’s opponent .
However, to Han Changsheng’s surprise, the guy didn’t make a second attack . He stared at Han Changsheng’s sword for a while, sighed, then turned and dove into the forest .
Feeling that his breath was far away, Han Changsheng put his sword away, his heart shocked . He didn’t see the man’s face clearly, it was too dark . All he knew was that the man’s eyes were dazzling and that he had excellent night vision .
Those with good martial arts also improved their physical quality . For that reason, their internal skill wasn’t necessarily worse than others, but their agility was too surprising to be mentioned .
How could the Yuehua Sect hide so many masters? He always thought the Yuehua sect was just a garbage sect! What was the man doing at midnight? Was he a disciple of the Yuehua Sect? Did he have anything to do with old man Xuanji and Elder Lan Fang’s deaths?
Han Changsheng was confused, but dared not stay a moment longer . He hurried down the mountain, his head full of doubt .