Jing Jiu came to the shore, the river water flowing down his white cloth like a waterfall.
The soldiers on the city wall of Chaonan were running, not knowing what had happened.
Jing Jiu glanced in that direction and used his sword source to evaporate the water on his body, his whole body enshrouded in a layer of white fog.
"Are you still asking me why I came to Chaoyang City?"
Zhao Layue's voice rang out outside the fog.
Jing Jiu now knew why the soldiers in Chaonan City were so nervous. It must be because she had alarmed many people when she rode her sword out of the city.
He didn't answer her question, because she was right.
What had happened to Liu Shisui was all within his expectation, but he still had to come and have a look before he could feel at ease.
Zhao Layue asked, "Have you found what you were looking for?"
Jing Jiu uttered "hmm".
Zhao Layue didn't ask anything else.
Jing Jiu looked at her and asked, "Do you still want to investigate further?"
Zhao Layue uttered "hmm" as well.
"This matter has nothing to do with the Thunder-Soul Wood."
Jing Jiu continued while looking at her, "If the ascension failed, the only reason was that there was something wrong with the formation."
Zhao Layue said, "Lei Poyun dared to steal the Thunder-Soul Wood from Bihu Peak, so he dared to tamper with the materials of the formation."
These two matters had nothing to do with each other, but this inference was indeed reasonable.
Jing Jiu said, "The formation was on the top of Shenmo Peak, so he couldn't tamper with it."
Zhao Layue thought that she didn't see any trace of the formation on the peak top, not even a trace of residual energy.
"Dispersing Smoke and Clouds is the name of that formation."
Jing Jiu said, "It won't leave any trace."
Zhao Layue said, "Dispersing Smoke and Clouds … this name is really inauspicious."
Jing Jiu said, "The ascension of the Cultivation practitioners means death to those who stay in this world, so it's not a happy thing to begin with."
Zhao Layue said after a moment of silence, "No wonder few people in the nine peaks of Aoyama are happy about the ascension of Senior Grandmaster."
Jing Jiu said nothing.
Zhao Layue said, "If there's nothing wrong with the materials, how could there be a problem with the formation?"
"Maybe … the formation that Perfected Jingyang learned back then was wrong."
Jing Jiu said with a smile.
His smile was a bit faint.
…
…
Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue left Chaonan City and traveled through the mountains, their whereabouts unknown.
On the other side of Aoyama, Liu Shisui had finally woken up. His burning skin had returned to its normal temperature. His mind was not affected, and there seemed to be no changes. No one knew that when he looked at himself in the bronze mirror, he could occasionally see a hint of red in the deepest part of his pupils.
On the second day, Liu Shisui was imprisoned in the Sword Jail. No matter how angry Elder Bai Rujing was, he couldn't change the decision of Shanghai De Peak.
It was because Shanghai De Peak suspected that Liu Shisui had secretly swallowed the Devil Pill of the Dace Devil during the demon-slaying battle at the Muddy River.
Swallowing the Devil Pill could help the Cultivation practitioners improve their Cultivation state quickly, but it could also contaminate their Dao Heart and cause them to go mad.
For the orthodox Cultivation sects, this was an unacceptable behavior, and for the Aoyama Sect, it was a serious offense against the Sword Justice.
Even though Liu Shisui was someone with natural Dao quality who was highly regarded by the sect, the lightest punishment would be to destroy his Cultivation state and expel him from Aoyama if he had done such a thing.
In the following days, Shanghai De Peak interrogated Liu Shisui severely, and even tortured him in the end.
The result of the interrogation was a bit unexpected.
By the Muddy River, Liu Shisui suddenly fell unconscious, his body was burning hot, and his Dao meridians were all abnormal phenomena, indicating that he had indeed swallowed the Devil Pill.
However, neither the masters of Shiyue Peak nor Chi Yan's Sword Heart Listening Pulse could find any direct evidence in his body.
Normally, since there was no evidence, Jing Jiu should be released. However, the incident was so strange that Shanghai De Peak wouldn't close the case.
Yuan Qijing gave the order to keep Liu Shisui locked up in the Sword Jail, and forbade anyone from visiting him.
By now, both Elder Bai Rujing and those young disciples of Liangwang Peak believed the judgment of Shanghai De Peak.
As such, nobody went to visit Liu Shisui.
No matter how hard Shanghai De Peak tortured Liu Shisui, he kept silent. He didn't even curse, no matter how much pain he was in.
Silence, he sat in the cell without any sunlight, his scarred face full of stubbornness, but he looked so lonely.
… …
… …
The nine peaks of Aoyama were shocked.
By the Stream of Sword Washing, discussions about this could often be heard. Some were doubtful, some were sympathetic, but most of them were indifferent and contemptuous.
The indifference and contemptuous came from their disappointment in Liu Shisui. Since he was highly valued by the sect, there was no need for him to be so anxious that his Dao Heart was disturbed.
Gu Qing was practicing sword work in Shenmo Peak, so the news came a bit late. By the time he learned about the incident, Liu Shisui had been locked up for more than ten days.
He thought this incident was suspicious, because he had met Liu Shisui a few times, and he didn't believe that Liu Shisui would steal and eat the Devil Pill.
If Liu Shisui continued to be locked up in the gloomy Sword Jail, his Cultivation would suffer a great setback, or even be cut off from the beginning.
Yet, he was only an inherited sword disciple living in Shenmo Peak; how could he help Liu Shisui?
At this moment, he remembered what Jing Jiu told him before he left: If anything happens, look for the monkey.
Gu Qing was a smart guy, and he had already figured out the meaning of this sentence.
In many people's eyes, Jing Jiu and Liu Shisui had drifted apart. Only Gu Qing knew the real relationship between Jing Jiu and Liu Shisui. For example, those bamboos and those instructions. He was sure that for Jing Jiu, only Liu Shisui's matters mattered in the nine peaks of Aoyama.
So the meaning of this sentence was: If anything happens to Liu Shisui, look for the monkey.
… …
… …
Gu Qing walked to the outside of the wooden hut, punched the tree trunk a few times, and then let out two "Wu" sounds.
The sound of twigs and leaves bending could be heard in the forest, along with the cries of the monkeys.
More than a dozen monkeys came to the wooden hut and surrounded him.
Gu Qing could imitate the monkeys' cries, but it didn't mean that he could explain this matter with these cries.
Looking at the apes, he told them the whole story in a slow and accurate voice.
The monkeys were so anxious that they scratched their ears and cheeks, pointing at him and screaming.
Gu Qing knew that they were scolding him, so he spread his hands innocently, thinking, "What can I do?"
A little monkey climbed into the wooden hut from the window, grabbed a piece of paper, and kept waving it in the air.
Gu Qing patted his forehead, thinking, "How could I be so stupid?"
The monkeys spread their arms innocently, thinking, "You still know?"
After grinding the ink and spreading out the white paper, Gu Qing was in a dilemma as to what to write.
Because he didn't know who the letter would be sent to later.
After thinking for a while, he finally wrote a few simple sentences, and he didn't forget to hold the pen in his left hand.
"I don't know who you are. Anyway, please help Liu Shisui."
… …
… …
The next day.
Liu Shisui was released.
Both the ordinary disciples by the Stream of Sword Washing and the people in the nine peaks were surprised.
Shanghai Peak didn't give any explanation.
No one went to pick up Liu Shisui.
When Liu Shisui returned to Tianguang Peak, he didn't see his master, Bai Rujing. He was greeted by countless strange eyes.
Late at night, Gu Han came.
"For the righteousness of the world, some sacrifices are worth it."
Gu Han put his hand on his shoulder and comforted him, "First Brother wanted to come in person, but he was worried that others would see it."
Liu Shisui asked, "Why did Shanghai Peak let me go? It was much earlier than planned. "
Gu Han said, "Of course it was Master's order."
Thinking that this was arranged by the Sect Master himself, Liu Shisui felt the burden on his shoulder getting heavier.
After Gu Han left, he sat in front of the window, looking at the oil lamp for a long time.
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