Vindicated After a Wrongful Death - Chapter 33

Xiang Zhongjing was shouting, “Congxu! Congxu, calm down! I’ll stop talking about the wedding! Stop! I’m going to be sick!”

Because of Xiang Zhongjing’s earlier comment “If we get married in the future, how about we decorate our wedding hall like that, too?” Gu Congxu was so shamed and irritated that his horns were nearly turning red. He hadn’t heard a word Xiang Zhongjing said. Blinded by a patch of clouds, he plummeted straight from the sky, crashing onto the legendary “wedding hall.”

There was a deafening boom.

Dust filled the air.

The entire Quyi Sect was jolted. Those closest to the reception hall watched in stunned silence as wood splinters flew through the ruins, not knowing how to react for a moment.

In the midst of the dusty wreckage, Xiang Zhongjing was surrounded by blazing flames, which held his body up and prevented him from falling into the debris.

Gu Congxu was nowhere to be found, leaving no trace behind, he had likely gone into hiding again.

The surrounding dust was stifling. Xiang Zhongjing’s legs were so weak he couldn’t stand, so he used the momentum of the flames to kick off the ruins and land on the clear ground ahead.

Once he stood straight, Xiang Zhongjing gripped the dragon-like flames tightly, lest he lose control and fall flat on his face.

As the dust settled, Xiang Zhongjing took a few breaths before finally looking up, coming face-to-face with the bustling crowd.

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

Man Qiuxia and Yun Yanli, relying on their veils to hide their faces, were watching the show with grins.

Several cultivators had already stood up from the ruins crushed by the dragon. Those seated at the main table were usually masters with extremely high cultivation, but none of them had expected something to crash through the roof of the Quyi Sect. They only had time to protect themselves with spiritual energy—while they weren’t injured, being buried under the wreckage was incredibly humiliating.

Qu Weixian had never encountered such a situation and was wondering what to do, but once he saw that the person who crashed his house was Xiang Zhongjing, his protective instinct took over, and he immediately dropped any intention of pursuing the matter.

Just because Qu Weixian wouldn’t pursue it didn’t mean others wouldn’t.

The commotion was too great. Qu Xing, who had been meeting with an old friend nearby, arrived upon hearing the news. Seeing the carnage before him, his face, which looked remarkably like Qu Weixian’s, darkened instantly with an imposing authority.

Xiang Zhongjing had been terrified of Qu Xing since he was a child. If his sword practice was even slightly off, he would be beaten at worst, or locked in a dark room without food or water at best.

To the young Xiang Zhongjing, who had not yet achieved Inedia, such punishment was practically a death sentence. If Qu Weixian hadn’t always visited him in secret, he might have been driven mad by the darkness.

Since leaving the Sandu Secret Realm, Xiang Zhongjing had known he would see Qu Xing again sooner or later. He thought that after all those years, the harsh treatment he suffered as a child would still make him feel fear.

Surprisingly, as Xiang Zhongjing looked at Qu Xing’s largely unchanged face through his thin veil, his heart remained perfectly calm. He even felt a sudden urge to laugh.

Was this the person I feared most back then?

Gu Congxu, hiding in Xiang Zhongjing’s sea of consciousness, was peekng at the mess he had left behind when he noticed that several of the lamps that had been lit for decades were suddenly going out.

Gu Congxu was startled.

Behind Qu Xing, a man in monk’s robes stood quietly, his aura compassionate and ethereal. Seeing the wreckage, he pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist name, his eyes full of pity.

Qu Xing’s expression was as foul as it could be. Anyone whose roof was smashed on their birthday wouldn’t look happy, and Qu Xing was not a broad-minded man to begin with.

He asked coldly, “Who are you?”

Xiang Zhongjing gave him a smile and a polite, neither humble nor arrogant bow. His tone was light. “Xiang Zhongjing, a disciple of the Quyi Sect. After being away for sixty years, I’ve returned specifically to celebrate the old Sect Leader’s birthday.”

This statement sent shockwaves through the crowd.

Everyone in the three realms knew that sixty years ago, the Quyi Sect disciple Xiang Zhongjing had massacred his fellow disciples in the Sandu Secret Realm and formed a contract with an evil dragon. He had been sealed in the Soul-Stabilizing Coffin by the First Sovereign Su Cansheng and Jin Chuling.

Back then, Song Youqiu had made sure everyone knew that Xiang Zhongjing’s life lamp had gone out. Everyone thought he had died quietly in the coffin. Why had he suddenly returned? And with such a grand entrance?

The onlookers exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts.

Qu Xing had already known about Xiang Zhongjing leaving the secret realm, but he had never expected the man to crash his house on his birthday. His expression grew dark and lethal. “So it is you, the traitor who contracted with the evil dragon. My Quyi Sect has no such disciple who would betray their master and ancestors!”

Qu Weixian took a step forward to speak, but someone grabbed his wrist.

Qu Weixian looked back to see that Su Cansheng had arrived at some point, looking down at him with an indifferent expression.

“Don’t go,” Su Cansheng said in a low voice. “If you help Xiang Zhongjing, there will be no place for you in the Quyi Sect.”

Qu Weixian tilted his head and looked at him seriously.

He knew Su Cansheng was always extremely calm in his dealings, and what he said now was no exception. If Qu Weixian defended Xiang Zhongjing in front of so many guests, he would surely be condemned by countless people. Even if his father was Qu Xing, he wouldn’t be able to protect him.

Seeing the dim light in his eyes, Su Cansheng said, almost pleadingly, “Don’t go, alright?”

Qu Weixian tilted his head again, watched him for a long while, and then said softly in a very strange tone, “Who are you to tell me what to do?”

Su Cansheng’s face turned pale instantly, and he swayed, nearly unable to stand.

It was just like back then.

After the severely injured Qu Weixian had slept for an entire year, the first thing he asked upon waking and learning about Xiang Zhongjing was with this exact expression.

“Where did you put Zhongjing?”

Su Cansheng hadn’t been able to answer him then, and he couldn’t say it now either.

After shaking off Su Cansheng’s hand, Qu Weixian prepared to run toward Xiang Zhongjing, but Xiang Zhongjing just caught his eye through a gap in the veil. Qu Weixian immediately understood his meaning and stayed obediently where he was.

Su Cansheng’s face grew even more grim.

Xiang Zhongjing leaned against the flames, his tone carrying a smile as if he hadn’t heard a word Qu Xing said. He continued to himself, “Sixty years have passed, yet the old Sect Leader is still as wise and majestic as ever. It really makes me… blegh.”

He didn’t finish his sentence before he completely lost control. Leaning over the flames, he turned his head and vomited.

Qu Xing: “…”

Everyone: “…”

Xiang Zhongjing looked wilted. After forcing out a few words to Qu Xing, he finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. Hanging onto the dragon-like Nether Fire, he vomited until the world turned upside down.

If one didn’t know better, they would think it was Qu Xing who made him so nauseous.

Qu Xing also mistakenly believed Xiang Zhongjing was doing it on purpose. His fingers clenched until they cracked, and he wanted nothing more than to draw his sword and kill him.

But his last shred of reason told him this was his birthday celebration. Almost every prominent figure from the three realms and Jiuzhou was here. If he were easily provoked into a rage by a few words, he would be the one losing face.

Qu Xing took a deep breath and raised his hand, saying almost through gritted teeth, “Xiang Zhongjing, since you aren’t dead, then the matter of you massacring the disciples of the three Great Gates and contracting with the evil dragon in the secret realm all those years ago should finally be settled.”

Several Quyi Sect disciples quickly appeared, drawing their swords in front of Xiang Zhongjing and looking at him with cold expressions.

Xiang Zhongjing hadn’t eaten much lately. No matter how much he retched, nothing came up, but his stomach felt incredibly uncomfortable.

He straightened up against the flames, looking listlessly at the swords pointed at him. He didn’t take them to heart at all, his face pale as he said, “Is the Sect Leader really so insulting as to only send these few people to silence me?”

Most of the guests present hadn’t been to the secret realm sixty years ago. They were all watching the show with interest, and upon hearing Xiang Zhongjing mention “silencing,” their curiosity peaked.

Xiang Zhongjing’s name topped the list of villains in many Jiuzhou storybooks. Those books said his crimes were too numerous to count, and his ending in the stories was always more tragic than the last.

The fact that Xiang Zhongjing was alive was already earth-shattering news, and now he seemed to be hinting that he had been framed.

Song Youqiu, crouching in a corner, had eyes that were shining. He secretly pulled out a brush, licked the tip, and began writing furiously.

He had wondered why Xiang Zhongjing hadn’t revealed his identity to clear his name at the Beast Taming Grand Ceremony. It turned out he was waiting to cause trouble at the Quyi Sect. After all, while there were many people at the ceremony, they were mostly insignificant cultivators. Unlike the birthday of a sect leader, where all the big shots were in attendance.

Song Youqiu wrote with even more excitement, once again thanking Xiang Zhongjing for letting him see such a show from the front row.

Sect Leader Yi of Linjiang Peak had attended Qu Xing’s birthday celebration with great reluctance. Before coming, he had even prayed for a chance to attend Qu Xing’s funeral a week later.

Seeing this scene, Sect Leader Yi couldn’t sit still. He stood up immediately and said in a booming voice, “If you want to settle things, why do it behind closed doors? What if the Quyi Sect uses torture to force the Sword Sovereign… ahem, force Xiang Zhongjing to confess? Where would we go for justice then?”

Some who disliked Qu Xing also joined in. “Exactly, exactly. Everything about what happened back then came from others’ words; the witnesses are all dead. Now that Sovereign Xiang is alive, why not re-examine the events and see who was actually spreading lies?”

Qu Xing looked at them coldly. “When the others arrived back then, the disciples were dead, my son was severely injured, and only Xiang Zhongjing was alive, still holding a blood-stained sword. Are you suggesting those disciples committed suicide?”

Xiang Zhongjing leaned lazily against the chair made of flames and said plainly, “It’s not impossible.”

Qu Xing let out a cold laugh, saying only, “A joke.”

The others also thought Xiang Zhongjing was joking.

Xiang Zhongjing didn’t say much, his gaze shifting with a half-smile toward the peacock perched on a nearby branch.

If one used soul-snatching, it wouldn’t be hard at all to make those disciples kill themselves.

Qu Xing continued to list his numerous crimes, but they were the same ones over and over. Xiang Zhongjing was bored of hearing them.

“Old Sect Leader, I see you really are going senile. You repeat the same few lines over and over. You aren’t bored, but my throat is getting dry.” Xiang Zhongjing interrupted Qu Xing’s words impatiently, saying plainly, “How about this: let’s put aside the matter of how the disciples were killed. You keep rambling on about me contracting with an evil dragon as if you were there to see it yourself. Why don’t we let the person who was actually there explain it to you?”

Qu Xing was taken aback.

Xiang Zhongjing looked with a half-smile toward Su Cansheng, who was staring blankly at Qu Weixian’s profile in the crowd. He narrowed his eyes and said, “First Sovereign, didn’t you tell me at the Beast Taming Grand Ceremony that my innocence had been restored? Why are you seeing me being attacked like this and not coming forward to clear my name?”

Su Cansheng’s gaze instinctively shifted toward the compassionate monk behind Qu Xing.

Xiang Zhongjing had been waiting for that look, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes instantly.

That monk might be one of the elders of the three Great Gates.

Everyone also turned their gaze toward Su Cansheng, the witness from back then, waiting for him to speak.

Xiang Zhongjing crossed his legs and urged him lazily, “Well? First Sovereign, don’t you pride yourself on being just? Why are you being so unfair only to me? Do you intend to watch me be taken by the Quyi Sect to be tortured to death?”

Su Cansheng felt everyone’s eyes on him. He took a few steps forward and looked at Xiang Zhongjing without expression. After a long while, he said in a low voice, “The matter of you contracting with the evil dragon was indeed a misjudgment on my part.”

This statement caused everyone’s jaws to drop in shock.

After all, the main reason Xiang Zhongjing had been ostracized by the world was because he had supposedly formed a life-and-death contract with the evil dragon from the secret realm; even the massacre of the disciples came second to that.

The crowd looked between Su Cansheng and Xiang Zhongjing, their minds racing.

The reason Su Cansheng had been able to become the First Sovereign was largely due to him sealing Xiang Zhongjing in the secret realm. Now, Su Cansheng was admitting in front of everyone that the contract had been a misjudgment.

Some masters with high cultivation began to look at Su Cansheng with strange expressions.

The monk behind Qu Xing sighed again and chanted a Buddhist name, his meaning unclear.

Having said his piece, Su Cansheng allowed everyone to look at him with their strange gazes.

It was what he deserved.

Su Cansheng could admit his mistake, but Qu Xing could not tolerate it. He gave a fierce mental command to the Quyi Sect disciples: “He can’t use spiritual energy. Quick, kill him! Right now!”

The disciples hesitated for a moment before raising their swords and charging toward Xiang Zhongjing, who showed no signs of spiritual energy.

Sect Leader Yi’s expression turned cold. He was about to step in and stop them when he saw Xiang Zhongjing let out a low laugh and form a hand seal, as if he were about to summon his spirit sword.

Seeing this, Sect Leader Yi immediately stopped. A man of his stature actually showed the expression of a child seeing candy, staring expectantly at Xiang Zhongjing, not wanting to miss a single detail.

Song Youqiu was so excited he nearly bit through his brush, his writing flowing like a swimming dragon.

“The Sovereign looked upon the rabble with disdain. Amidst the blazing flames, he summoned his spirit sword and sent the hideous thugs flying with a single strike!”

Just as he finished writing, he saw that Xiang Zhongjing hadn’t summoned a sword. Instead, a suffocating pressure filled the air.

In the next heartbeat, a massive black dragon appeared in the ruins. The True Dragon’s aura immediately forced the peacock on the nearby tree to fall straight to the ground, its head bowed and its wings trembling.

Among the visiting cultivators, there were inevitably some demon cultivators. The moment the True Dragon appeared, they involuntarily reverted to their original forms and knelt down respectfully, dripping with cold sweat.

Everyone was shocked.

Gu Congxu coiled his entire body around the stunned Xiang Zhongjing, refusing to let anyone near him. His massive vertical pupils were dark and lethal, and his voice was deep as an ancient bell.

“Lowly ants. A thousand years have passed, yet you still only know how to resort to such underhanded tactics.”