bayedsolid Chapter 190 The dusty past
Chapter 190 The dusty past
The one who becomes the High Priest of Gu Nu Village must be the best in the village in terms of Gu magic; there is no doubt about that.
Therefore, the selection of priestesses, or holy maidens, has always been extremely rigorous.
Once this is clear, it becomes clear that Jiang Yuchuan's speculation was not just a casual remark, but actually a possibility!
After all, given the High Priest's abilities and research into Gu magic, attempting to use Gu on a stranger or even an enemy would be like showing off one's limited skills before an expert—there's simply no chance of success. Only someone close to the High Priest, or someone who can make the High Priest lower their guard, could possibly succeed in a surprise attack.
Furthermore, even if the skill of using Gu is not as good as that of the High Priest, it should not be much worse, otherwise the High Priest would still have noticed when the opponent made the move.
Ji Zizhou immediately told Xi Yun about this discovery.
Xi Yun had long suspected this, but she wasn't entirely sure. Now that she heard Jiang Yuchuan thought the same thing, she immediately went to find the most senior elders in the village, told them her speculation, and took the opportunity to ask about her master's past.
After hearing Xi Yun's words, the elders, all over seventy years old, fell silent.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Xi Yun knew that these old fogies definitely knew something. They might have already guessed who the murderer was, but they just refused to say it!
Xi Yun immediately flew into a rage and snorted coldly, "If the elders refuse to tell Yun'er the truth today and delay Master's treatment, then Yun'er might as well not be a Holy Maiden!"
"Yun girl, don't be so impulsive and irritable at such a young age."
The oldest man, with white hair and beard, who appeared to be sitting in the center, sighed and slowly said, "It seems that some things cannot be avoided. Since Yun is Xiaoman's successor, and Xiaoman is now under the influence of Gu and in a coma, there is no need to abide by those rules now."
“Since the Grand Elder has said so, then we have no objections.” Another old woman looked at Xi Yun. “Yun girl, it’s not that we intentionally wanted to hide this from you, but after your master became the High Priest, she explicitly forbade it and listed this past event as a taboo in the village. No one is allowed to talk about it without her permission.”
"My master?"
Xi Yun was stunned, clearly not expecting this to be the case.
The old woman then told Xi Yun about this taboo past.
This is a story from when her master, Ximan, was still a saintess.
Lu Man was a few years younger than Xi Yun is now. Back then, the village of Gu Nu was full of talented people and selected two holy maidens.
One is Xi Yun's master, Xi Man, and the other is Xi Man's junior sister, Ni Chang.
Ni Chang was three years younger than Xi Man. She was not a native of Gu Nu Zhai, but an orphan who was picked up from outside by the high priest at the time.
Ni Chang and Xi Man grew up under the same roof since they could remember, as close as twin sisters. One was calm and reserved, while the other was lively and innocent. Both had extraordinary talent in the comprehension of Gu magic and became candidates for the Holy Maiden at a young age.
This joyful time lasted for fifteen years, until both of them successfully passed the test and became the only two holy maidens in the history of Gu Nu Zhai.
That year, Xi Man was twenty years old, and Ni Chang was seventeen.
It was in this year that a guest came to Gu Nu Zhai.
This person is named He Lichuan, and is a direct disciple of Yunshui Palace, the number one sect in Dayong.
At that time, He Lichuan was traveling in the world of love. After hearing that the Gu Nu Village was famous for its Gu magic and had many beautiful women, he traveled a long distance to visit them.
As direct disciples of Yunshui Palace, Gu Nu Village naturally had to show them sufficient respect. Therefore, the task of receiving He Lichuan fell to Xi Man and Ni Chang, who had just become saintesses.
The story unfolds much like many other stories: after getting to know each other, both Xi Man and Ni Chang are captivated by He Lichuan's handsome appearance, witty conversation, and exceptional knowledge, and secretly fall in love with him.
He Lichuan also developed a liking for these two women, who had very different personalities but were both beautiful.
As the three drew closer, the High Priestess quickly sensed the subtle atmosphere between them. She then secretly called He Lichuan aside and asked him which one he truly loved, promising to arrange a marriage between them.
For Gu Nu Village, establishing a marriage alliance with Yunshui Palace would be entirely beneficial, so the High Priest was very happy to facilitate it.
He Lichuan did not give an answer at the time, and Tianya could not make a choice between the two in a short period of time. To put it bluntly, he liked both of these saintesses.
However, the high priest secretly decided to arrange for Xi Man to marry He Lichuan. Therefore, after meeting with He Lichuan alone, he summoned Ni Chang alone again and told her that He Lichuan had ultimately chosen Xi Man over her, and that she should give up pursuing He Lichuan and stop bothering him.
Ni Chang didn't think much of it and, as expected, began to distance herself from He Lichuan.
He Lichuan was unaware of what had happened. Seeing that Ni Chang was always intentionally distancing herself from him, she had no choice but to grow closer to Xi Man.
Just as the two were about to get married, Ni Chang somehow learned the truth about the conversation between the High Priest and He Lichuan, so she went to question He Lichuan.
He Lichuan told her the truth, and Ni Chang was heartbroken. In a fit of anger, she used a love potion on the unsuspecting He Lichuan and had sex with him.
Losing one's virginity before marriage is absolutely forbidden in the village of Gu Nu. Anyone found doing so will be executed and forced to feed their body to a venomous insect.
Fearing punishment, Ni Chang fled the village of Gu Nu with He Li Chuan overnight.
Upon learning of this, the High Priest was furious and immediately sent men to hunt down Ni Chang, exaggerating the incident to inform Yunshui Palace.
As the rightful leader, Yunshui Palace naturally could not tolerate any blemishes among its disciples, especially its direct disciples. Therefore, it quickly announced to the martial arts world that He Lichuan had been expelled from the sect.
During the time she was hiding from the pursuit of the Gu Nu Zhai, Ni Chang discovered that she was pregnant with He Li Chuan's child.
Although He Lichuan was under the influence of the love potion, Ni Chang had never activated it since that night. He Lichuan did not resent Ni Chang for his current predicament, and gradually developed genuine feelings for her as they spent more time together, especially after learning that Ni Chang was pregnant with his child.
Although the two were hiding from the pursuit of the Gu Nu Village, they were living a very sweet life.
However, their good fortune was short-lived, as their whereabouts were soon discovered by the high priest's men.
It was Xi Man who discovered the two of them.
Xi Man already knew about the conversation between the High Priest, He Lichuan, and Ni Chang, so she didn't think there was anything wrong with what the two of them did, especially since one of them was her sister who had grown up with her since childhood, and the other was the man she admired.
At their insistence, Xi Man did not reveal their whereabouts.
But right after Ximan left, a group of assassins claiming to be hired by the high priest broke into their residence and went on a killing spree.
This group of people were extremely skilled in martial arts. In order to cover Ni Chang's escape, He Lichuan was seriously injured and died tragically under the swords of these assassins.
Ni Chang also miscarried during her escape, losing her child with He Lichuan.
The successive blows caused Ni Chang's personality to change drastically, and she directed all her hatred towards the High Priest and Xi Man.
In her opinion, the appearance of this group of assassins was definitely related to Xi Man.
Thus, with hatred deeply buried in her heart, Ni Chang secretly cultivated her own power while hiding her identity, and began to study evil Gu and cultivate evil arts.
Finally, one night ten years later, Ni Chang, having mastered her divine skills, launched a sneak attack on Gu Nu Village. At that time, Xi Man, who had just taken over as the High Priestess, happened to be away on business.
As the former high priest, who was also Ximan and Nishang's master, he had no choice but to lead everyone to fight.
The battle lasted a full day. Ni Chang escaped with serious injuries, but all her subordinates perished in the battle. On the other hand, the Gu Nu Village also suffered heavy losses. In addition to the deaths of three elders and more than a hundred clansmen, the former high priest was also poisoned by Ni Chang's evil Gu and turned into a pool of blood, dying tragically on the spot.
When Xi Man returned and learned of this, she said nothing and left the village again.
This time, Xi Man took a full month to travel.
When she returned, she said nothing, but directly listed the incident as a taboo in the village, forbidding the villagers from mentioning it at all.