Chapter 405 - 223: Gathering of Prodigies

Chapter 405: Chapter 223: Gathering of Prodigies

"For a higher realm, then."

Xie Yuan said pensively. When a Martial Artist hits a bottleneck, they will indeed try anything to break through.

Huie Jue’s faintly mocking smile returned.

"If that were the case, he would at least live up to the name of a Grandmaster."

"It’s not? Then what is it for...?"

Xie Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Benefactor Xie, how many more years of life do you think Duke Ning has?"

Huie Jue asked abruptly.

Xie Yuan was taken aback for a moment.

"Huh? He’s a Martial Arts Grandmaster. As I recall, he isn’t that old. Logically, he should still have..."

He trailed off, stopping suddenly.

When he saw Duke Ning today, the man had been full of vigor, his Blood Qi flourishing. Yet for a Martial Arts Grandmaster, his hair was streaked with an unconcealable gray, and he carried an air of decline. Normally, only a Martial Artist whose Blood Qi was failing would show such signs...

Seeing that Xie Yuan understood, Huie Jue nodded slightly.

"Duke Ning suffered a severe injury in his youth that damaged his foundation. Although he broke through to the Grandmaster realm, it left behind a chronic ailment. His condition has been worsening with each passing year."

"My master achieved the rank of Grandmaster nearly a century ago, yet he remains in the prime of his life. This is partly due to the uniqueness of the Grandmaster realm, but also thanks to our temple’s Cultivation Technique. That is why Duke Ning, unable to find a cure, has written to us several times, speaking at length of his ’piety.’"

Upon hearing this, understanding dawned on Xie Yuan. He now knew the real reason for Duke Ning’s attitude toward Huie Jue.

’So he’s seeking a method for longevity. No wonder he was acting so subservient. I just thought he was truly pious because he seemed to know so much about Buddhist Techniques. Turns out he just put in a lot of real effort to study them.’

At this thought, an idea sparked in Xie Yuan’s mind. He focused his gaze and said,

"So, his secret betrayal of the imperial family and collusion with the great families... is also because of this?"

"Correct."

Huie Jue’s expression was calm.

"The great families have methods like that?"

Xie Yuan asked, baffled. But he immediately thought it made sense. ’What kind of Secret Technique wouldn’t a thousand-year-old family possess?’

Huie Jue looked at Xie Yuan, a cryptic smile on his face.

"Haven’t you seen it before, Benefactor Xie?"

"What do you mean?"

Xie Yuan’s brows knitted together.

’This monk is so infuriating when he speaks in riddles. But he really does know a lot.’ Xie Yuan had no choice but to be patient.

Huie Jue gazed into the distance and said softly,

"Benefactor Xie, why did you begin investigating the great families in the first place?"

"Because in Yunzhou, I..."

Xie Yuan stopped mid-sentence.

He snapped his head toward Huie Jue and said in a low voice,

"Are you saying... those people..."

"A portion of them, perhaps."

Huie Jue sighed.

Xie Yuan’s fists slowly clenched. ’So that’s why they were abducting people from the border provinces?’

’To extend the lives of the masters of the great families?’

’What kind of evil art is this?’

Xie Yuan had assumed the great families possessed some orthodox method of life extension, like consuming elixirs or refining the essence of heaven and earth. But if it required other people... what kind of method could it be? And what happened to those people after they were "used"... there was no need to even ask. One only had to look at the great families’ setup at the Wu River to understand their attitude.

Xie Yuan’s brow was tightly furrowed.

"Which family is it? Or are all eight great families involved? Was Steward Wang’s death also because of this? Who was the killer?"

Seeing Xie Yuan’s agitation, Huie Jue sighed again.

"Benefactor Xie, this humble monk does not truly possess the Buddha’s five Divine Powers. I only know of these matters because they relate to my temple and to you. As for the deeper secrets, let alone this humble monk, even my master might not know the full story."

Hearing this, Xie Yuan calmed down a little. He looked at Huie Jue’s compassionate expression, and a thought struck him.

"Monk Huie Jue, why did you seek me out? And what did you mean by those things you said when we sparred?"

Huie Jue chanted a Buddhist phrase and lowered his eyes slightly.

"Benefactor Xie, this humble monk is a Buddhist novice, but also a practitioner of the Martial Dao. In this life, I dare not claim I can save all living beings, but how can I bear to see evil run rampant and the common people suffer? After I happened to uncover the secrets behind the great families of Jiangnan, I sought you out, knowing you to have a chivalrous heart, so that we might seek the truth together."

Xie Yuan listened, his gaze fixed on Huie Jue as he fell into pensive silence.

’Although his explanation is plausible, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s holding something back... that this isn’t the whole truth...’

Regardless, Xie Yuan could feel that at least the first part of his speech—about not being able to bear the people’s suffering—came from the heart of this infuriating monk.

Even though the Ghost Monk was full of nonsense, with barely one true word in ten, Xie Yuan could somehow distinguish his jokes from his sincerity. ’Perhaps he never truly intended to deceive me.’

Xie Yuan nodded slowly.

"Your compassion is great, Monk Huie Jue. I understand. So, what do you think our next step should be?"

Huie Jue pressed his palms together, a smile on his face.

"An old saying goes, ’Two heads are short on plans, but three are long on them.’ It would be best if we waited for one more person to join us."

’...I don’t think that’s how the old saying goes, is it?’

Xie Yuan shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it. He asked curiously,

"Who else are we waiting for? Do you have another companion here?"

"Amitabha. If we walk the same path, is not everyone a companion? Why be so concerned, Benefactor Xie?"

Huie Jue simply offered a profound, inscrutable smile, giving no direct answer.

Xie Yuan’s eyelid twitched, and he clenched his fists again. The strange sense of rapport that had just begun to form vanished into thin air.

He followed Huie Jue to an inconspicuous spot on the long street. They stood there, silently watching Duke Ning’s Mansion, and he had no idea what they were waiting for.

Suddenly, a young Daoist with sharp, sword-like brows and eyes as bright as stars strode up to the entrance of the Duke Mansion. He exchanged a few words with the guards, and a moment later, someone came out to welcome him inside.

Before long, however, the Daoist was "escorted" back out, looking rather disheveled.

He stood at the entrance to the Duke Mansion, pointing at the main gate and cursing furiously, drawing sideways glances from all the passersby.

Strangely, however, though the Duke Mansion’s guards looked mortified, none of them made a move to stop him. They simply pretended not to hear.

From a distance, Huie Jue tilted his head to listen, an amused smile spreading across his face. He chuckled and said,

"The person we’ve been waiting for has arrived."

Xie Yuan’s expression flickered. He saw Huie Jue gesture for him to approach the Daoist.

Xie Yuan was completely baffled. ’I don’t even know who that person is or what he’s doing. Am I supposed to just walk up and ask if he wants to take down the great families together?’

"Benefactor Xie, just say this..."

Huie Jue whispered a few sentences in his ear. Looking skeptical, Xie Yuan wore a strange expression as he stepped forward.

The young Daoist’s brows were furrowed in anger as he cursed out the Duke Mansion in the middle of the street. Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

Startled, he whipped his head around to see a thoroughly unremarkable-looking young man.

’Who is this person? He looks so ordinary. How did he get so close to me without making a sound?’

Xie Yuan looked at the young Daoist, cleared his throat, and said,

"Daoist, if you wish to know the truth, then follow me."

Seeing the Daoist’s pupils shrink as he stared back, bewildered and wary as if facing a great enemy, Xie Yuan thought to himself,

"So this is what it feels like to be the one speaking in riddles... Not bad."