At the top of the nine-floored stone tower, Cui Ziwen, who was dressed in a black robe with golden threads, and Long Zhijie, who was dressed in a white robe, stood side by side, gazing into the distance.
It was already late at night. Ye Kong's Ming Yue hung high in the sky, glittering with stars. The stone tower's surroundings were quiet, and not a sound could be heard.
A breeze blew, and the two's clothes and hair ribbons fluttered.
"Master Long, I presume you've come because of my master?" Cui Ziwen broke the silence and asked Long Zhijie.
Long Zhijie's heart skipped a beat.
Cui Ziwen's mention of his master made him feel deeply gratified.
Cui Ziwen's cultivation was heaven-defying, his wealth was comparable to that of a nation, and he was no longer a disciple of Mao Mountain. Even so, he still respectfully called Lu Ji his master.
"That's right. I've come because of brother Lu's death." The white-robed Long Zhijie answered Cui Ziwen directly.
"Master Long wants to seek revenge?" Cui Ziwen, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, turned to look at Long Zhijie and asked with a smile.
"That depends on whether or not Master Cui is brother Lu's murderer." Long Zhijie smiled as he turned to look at Cui Ziwen.
"In Master Long's opinion, am I not the murderer of my master?" Cui Ziwen turned to look into the distance with a smile.
"If you really were brother Lu's murderer, I'm afraid you and I wouldn't be speaking like this." Long Zhijie turned his head as he spoke.
"Oh?" Cui Ziwen smiled. "Does Master Long not think I'm the murderer?"
"How could a leader who cherishes his disciples be the murderer of a respected teacher?" Long Zhijie said with a smile.
"Oh?" Cui Ziwen asked with a smile. "Aren't you afraid that I'm doing this on purpose for you to see?"
"You may be able to fool me, but those disciples under you cannot fool me," Long Zhijie said with a smile. "I can see that they respect you from the bottom of their hearts, and are definitely not people who are afraid of death."
"Is that why you don't think I'm the murderer?" Cui Ziwen asked Long Zhijie with a smile.
"Just this one spot is enough to see the whole picture. Like master, like disciple, "Long Zhijie said with a smile.
Cui Ziwen smiled but did not comment.
"What is Master Cui's opinion on your master's death?" Long Zhijie changed the topic and asked Cui Ziwen.
"What do you mean, Mr. Long?" Cui Ziwen turned around and asked Long Zhijie.
"Since Sect Master Cui was able to deduce the purpose of this Long's trip, you must also know that Brother Lu faked his death, right?" Long Zhijie turned his head as he spoke, his eyes fixed on Cui Ziwen.
Since Cui Ziwen was not Lu Ji's murderer, Long Zhijie did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
He had a feeling that Cui Ziwen must have known about Lu Ji's fake death.
"Since Mr. Long knows that my master is not dead, why did you come here to find me?" Cui Ziwen looked at Ye Kong and asked with a calm expression.
Cui Ziwen's words made Long Zhijie's expression change instantly!
Everything was as he expected. Cui Ziwen had known about Lu Ji's fake death a long time ago!
"Master Cui knew about this long ago?" Long Zhijie asked with a frown.
"That's right," Cui Ziwen said calmly, "I knew about this long ago."
"So, Master Cui must know where your master is now?" Long Zhijie asked Cui Ziwen anxiously.
If Cui Ziwen knew about this long ago, then he must know Lu Ji's whereabouts, and even the identity of Lu Ji's murderer!
"I only know that my master is not dead, but I don't know where he is," Cui Ziwen said with a shake of his head.
"Even Master Cui doesn't know where your master is?" Long Zhijie asked with a frown, "Then how do you know that your master is not dead?"
"Twenty-five years ago, I returned to Mao Mountain alone on the night before my teacher's death anniversary. I secretly went to burn incense and worship in front of my teacher's grave. By chance, I found only a shoe in my teacher's coffin. My teacher's body was not there," said Cui Ziwen. "It was then that I knew my teacher was not dead."
"And then?" Long Zhijie continued to ask, "Did you try to find him afterwards?"
"No," Cui Ziwen replied.
"No?" Long Zhijie was confused, "Why not?"
"I know my master's temper best. Since he did this, he must have his reasons. If I could find him, then he wouldn't have to do this," Cui Ziwen said calmly as he looked up at the Ming Yue in Ye Kong.
"That's right. Brother Lu's temper is indeed like that," Long Zhijie said with a nod after hearing Cui Ziwen's explanation.
"I wonder how he is now," Cui Ziwen thought about his master, Lu Ji, when he thought about what had happened in the past.
If it wasn't for Lu Ji, he might have already left this world, and he wouldn't be alive today.
"With your current cultivation level, it shouldn't be difficult for you to divine Brother Lu's whereabouts," Long Zhijie said to Cui Ziwen.
"Although my cultivation level isn't low, this divination technique was passed down to me by my master. At that time, my master's cultivation level was close to that of a true immortal. As long as he didn't want me to know, I couldn't divine any information about him," Cui Ziwen said as he shook his head.
"What about the person who poisoned your master and ambushed you? Can you deduce his identity? "Long Zhijie asked again.
"Mr. Long, you're really muddle-headed," Cui Ziwen looked at Long Zhijie with a smile, "The person who ambushed me used the Mao Mountain's secret technique, the Soul Shattering Palm. At that time, there were only three people who practiced the Soul Shattering Palm. Who do you think that person is? "
As soon as Cui Ziwen said this, Long Zhijie's expression changed greatly, and his pupils constricted!
Aside from Lu Ji, there were only two people who knew the Soul Shattering Palm. One was Cui Ziwen, the eldest disciple of Mao Mountain, and the other was Lu Ji's only son, Lu Yuanshan!
The person who poisoned Lu Ji and injured Cui Ziwen was actually him!
The shocked Long Zhijie simply couldn't believe his own ears!
One had to know that Lu Yuanshan was Lu Ji's only son. How could he do such a disgraceful thing?
"Impossible, impossible!" Long Zhijie said with a pale face, "It can't be him!"
Cui Ziwen smiled faintly, and looked at the stars without saying anything.
Long Zhijie's reaction was within his expectations.
No one would be able to believe such a thing.
However, this was the truth, and it couldn't be changed by believing it or not.
"There must be a mistake, there must be a mistake!" Long Zhijie looked up at Cui Ziwen and said anxiously, "How could he do something as evil as patricide?"
"If you don't believe me, you can go back to the Ise Grand Shrine and ask your Amaterasu to see if I'm right." Cui Ziwen said calmly to Long Zhijie while admiring the bright moonlight.
The Amaterasu Great God was a god, and naturally saw through everything.
Long Zhijie's eagle eyes were wide open, and his brows were tightly knitted. He kept recalling the details of Lu Yuanshan's actions.
Secretly sensing outside the side hall, hiding the Soul Shattering Palm before entering the door, gathering Yin Qi after, and the Thousand Year Zombie Demon pretending to be a Mao Mountain disciple …
All of this happened to coincide with what Cui Ziwen had said!
Thinking of this, the anger in Long Zhijie's chest burned fiercely!
"This bastard is worse than a pig or a dog! He actually did such a thing to deceive his master! "Long Zhijie cursed.
Cui Ziwen listened quietly and did not say anything.
"If you knew that he was the murderer, why didn't you go to the Mao Mountain all these years and cut that unfilial son of yours into pieces?" Long Zhijie said angrily.
"My master is not dead, so why would I go to him for revenge?" Cui Ziwen said plainly, "Even if I went to the Mao Mountain, as long as my master is not standing in front of him alive, what evidence would I have to prove that he was the murderer? I can't say that I figured it out myself, can I? "
Long Zhijie frowned and said nothing.
"If that happened, not only would he refuse to admit to his crime of patricide, but he would also use the power of the entire sect to fight me in the name of avenging his father." Cui Ziwen continued, "What do you want me to do when that time comes? I can't just wipe out the entire Maoshan Sect, can I? Generations of Maoshan Sect Masters worked hard to create the Maoshan Sect that it is today, and I was once a disciple of the Maoshan Sect. If I did that, I would be deceiving my master, and I would be no different from Lu Yuanshan. "
"So, you're just going to leave him be?" Long Zhijie frowned and asked Cui Ziwen, "With your current level of cultivation, killing him would be as easy as crushing an ant."
"It's the father's fault for not teaching his son. It's the teacher's fault for not learning. " Cui Ziwen turned his head to look at Long Zhijie, "To Lu Yuanshan, Benshi is both his father and his master. The matter of cleaning up the family should be his responsibility, not mine." If my master was truly dead, I could kill Lu Yuanshan without a proper burial. However, my master is not dead, and I have no right to ask about it. "
"Then, what about the slap he gave you? Are you just going to let it go like that? "Long Zhijie asked Cui Ziwen.
"He's the only son of my master, and we used to be in the same sect. For the sake of my master and the Maoshan Sect, I'll let it go." Cui Ziwen smiled and said, "I'll put the blame on Matsumoto Takeyoshi."
"Matsumoto Takeyoshi?" Cui Ziwen's words shocked Long Zhijie. "Does this have something to do with Matsumoto Takeyoshi?"
"My master and I met Matsumoto Takeyoshi at Longhu Mountain back in the day," Cui Ziwen recalled. "He was a citizen of the Ming Dynasty back then, and he even donated 1,000 taels of silver as incense money to the Maoshan Sect."
"Is that so?" Long Zhijie frowned.
"Since then, he has often come to the Maoshan Sect to discuss matters with my master," Cui Ziwen said. "In fact, since then, Matsumoto Takeyoshi had already been in contact with Lu Yuanshan."
"Are you saying that …" Long Zhijie looked shocked. He seemed to understand what Cui Ziwen meant.
"That's right." Cui Ziwen looked at Long Zhijie and continued, "In the matter of Lu Yuanshan poisoning my teacher and framing me, Matsumoto Takeyoshi played a role in adding fuel to the fire. Without his support and instigation, Lu Yuanshan would not have done such a thing no matter how bold he was."
Long Zhijie was shocked after hearing Cui Ziwen's words.
He knew that Matsumoto Takeyoshi's influence was deeply rooted in the Ming Dynasty, and it had even spread to the imperial court. However, he never expected that a righteous sect like the Maoshan Sect would have become Matsumoto Takeyoshi's minions.
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