From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 485 The truth is revealed

A sliver of moonlight shone through the crack in the cabinet door, making the veins on the back of my hand appear bluish-white.

Deacon Wu's footsteps stopped in the center of the courtyard, and I could hear the "rustling" sound of his shoes grinding over gravel, which was closer than before.

"You little bastard, you can run away now but you can't hide forever." His voice was like a rusty knife scraping across a millstone. "Do you think I don't know about your petty affairs at Green Bamboo Peak?"

Lin Gousheng woke up quickly; the message talisman had just been burned yesterday, and someone was already rummaging through the door tonight.

My fingernails dug into my palm, the key was still hot, and the dark brown bloodstains on the blood talisman in my sleeve hurt painfully through the fabric.

Senior Brother Lin is awake?

Has the medicine Wen Chen gave you worked?

The "message talisman" that Deacon Wu mentioned—could it be that he had been monitoring Senior Brother Lin's movements all along?

The door to the main room creaked open, and I heard the crisp sound of shattering porcelain; he must have overturned the table. "Hiding it?"

"Keep hiding!" He muttered as he walked towards the side room, cursing. "Once I find you, I'll first pull out your tendons to make lamp wicks, then gouge out your eyes and soak them in a blood jar—"

When the door to the east wing was kicked open, I almost ground my back teeth to powder.

The wooden planks of the dark cabinet were so thin that if he came over and rummaged through the pile of junk, I wouldn't even have time to hold my breath.

The moonlight was suddenly blocked out, and Deacon Wu's shadow was cast on the cabinet door. I saw the hem of his black Taoist robe sweep across the ground, leaving specks of dark red—like bloodstains.

"Huh?" His footsteps stopped in front of the pile of clutter, and I didn't even dare to feel my heart skip a beat.

The next moment, his fingertips tapped on the door of the hidden cabinet. "This cabinet is quite sturdy..."

My throat tightened, and I didn't even dare to swallow.

The key was burning hot in his palm, like a red-hot charcoal, but the Concealment Technique hadn't been broken yet. Wen Chen had said that this technique could fool cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage—Deacon Wu was only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, so he shouldn't be able to detect it.

"Heh." He suddenly chuckled, turned around and walked towards the main room. "Perhaps I'm just overthinking it."

If that little brat were really capable of getting here, she would have already stolen the blood talisman.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, I realized that my back was soaked in cold sweat and I was shivering against the cabinet wall.

Only after I heard the click of a lock coming from outside the courtyard did I carefully push open the cabinet door.

Moonlight streamed in through the holes in the window paper, illuminating the table that Steward Wu had just kicked over, and the remaining tea from the broken teacups left dark brown stains on the floor.

He had moved the bluestone slab in the east wing. I squatted down and lifted it again. The blood talisman was still there, and the traces of Senior Sister Qingwei's spiritual blood shone with a faint blue hue under the moonlight.

As I put it into the storage bag, I caught a glimpse of half a red silk ribbon peeking out from under the desk in the main room—it was the pull cord of a hidden compartment.

There weren't many things in the hidden compartment: half a jade plaque with yin fire patterns and a letter sealed with wax.

The wax mark is a deformed black lotus; I recognize it—it's the symbol of the Darkmoon Cult.

Last year, when Sister Qingwei was hunting down evil cultivators, she saw the same mark in a pile of corpses.

My fingertips trembled as I opened the letter. The handwriting on the letter was crooked and looked like it was written with my left hand: "At midnight three days from now, open the gap in the forbidden array behind the mountain and let three hundred Dark Moon Sect warriors enter the valley."

The "Nine Luminaries True Manual" in the Xuanxiao Palace is in the seventh compartment of the third row of the Scripture Pavilion. Take it and burn it.

Remember, don't touch that little girl...

"Little girl"?

My hands were trembling as I held the letter.

Deacon Wu is an inside agent planted by the Dark Moon Sect on Green Bamboo Peak. For so many years, he has been passing on messages for them, sabotaging the array's core, and perhaps even... Could Senior Sister Qingwei's death also be related to this letter?

In her last message, she said "Yin Fire Pattern, Back Mountain," which was what she was referring to!

The sound of the water clock came from outside the courtyard. I stuffed the letter into my sleeve, and the jade clasp of my storage bag jingled against my wrist.

We must find Elder Xuanyun immediately—he is the head of the Enforcement Hall and hates evil cultivators who infiltrate the area. He investigated Senior Sister Qingwei's case for three years, and now that we have concrete evidence, we're sure to be able to...

"Yao girl?"

I had just climbed over the courtyard wall when I bumped into Elder Xuanyun's Taoist robe.

He carried a glass lamp in his hand, its wick flickering with an eerie green light—a soul-tracking lamp used to detect evil cultivators. "Young Wen said you took the Key of Destiny to Deacon Wu's courtyard. I was worried, so I brought this soul-tracking lamp to look for you." His gaze swept over the bulging letter in my sleeve. "Have you found anything?"

I laid out the blood talisman, jade tablet, and secret letter under the lamplight.

The green light of the Soul-Chasing Lamp suddenly intensified, projecting a black lotus phantom onto the Yin Fire Pattern Jade Tablet.

Elder Xuanyun's fingers clattered softly against the teacup, a cold glint in his eyes: "What a traitor..."

The crowing of a rooster could be heard in the distance. As I gazed at the pale light of dawn breaking in the east, I suddenly remembered the last sentence of the letter: "Don't touch that little girl."

Why did the Dark Moon Cult specifically instruct Deacon Wu?

Do they know I'm a time traveler?

still......

Elder Xuanyun suddenly pressed down on my shoulder: "Go back to your room and rest. I'll go and summon the disciples from the Enforcement Hall."

Three days later… He paused, his gaze as heavy as if it held a block of black iron, “Some scores should be settled.”

Elder Xuanyun's hand was still on my shoulder, the warmth of his palm seeping through my Taoist robe, but I suddenly smelled a faint burnt smell—like the scent of some kind of talisman being forcibly crushed.

"Not good." He suddenly released his grip and took a half-step back. The green light of the Soul-Chasing Lantern suddenly surged three feet, casting distorted shadows on the bluestone slab. "That old bastard has noticed."

I followed his gaze toward the backyard and saw wisps of black smoke rising from the window of Deacon Wu's room. It was the eerie flame that was characteristic of a burning communication talisman.

He didn't lock the door when he left the yard; he had a backup plan all along!

“He’s going to tip us off.” I gripped the storage pouch tightly, the secret letter in my sleeve wrinkled under my fingernails. “If the Dark Moon Cult knows we’ve discovered us, their plan from three days ago will be brought forward—”

"Go and guard the Scripture Pavilion." Elder Xuanyun suddenly shoved the Soul-Chasing Lamp into my hand, quickly forming a hand seal with his fingertips and patting it on my back. "I'll go and get the disciples from the Enforcement Hall to seal off the back mountain. You take the side alley and cut off his retreat!"

This old geezer has been on Green Bamboo Peak for thirty years; he knows the terrain very well. He's definitely trying to escape through the secret passage on the cliff!

Before he could finish speaking, a loud bang came from outside the courtyard, the sound of the barrier being forcibly torn apart.

I grabbed the Soul-Chasing Lantern and rushed out. The night wind carried the smell of burning food into my throat. In the moonlight, I could vaguely see a dark figure running wildly towards the servants' quarters in the southwest corner. The bloodstains on the hem of the Taoist robe looked blackish-red in the night.

"Deacon Wu!" I crushed a speed talisman, and cyan wind blades rose beneath my feet. The green light of the Soul-Chasing Lamp illuminated his shadow ahead. "You must repay Senior Sister Qingwei's blood debt today!"

He paused, and when he turned around, the fat on his face trembled violently. In the moonlight, you could see the shadows in the corners of his eyes: "You little bitch!"

"I should have listened to Lord Dark Moon long ago and drowned you in the Marrow Cleansing Pool!"

Before he finished speaking, he raised his hand and thrust out three poisoned silver needles, their tips gleaming with a ghostly blue light.

I spun around to avoid it, but my left shoulder was still grazed and left a bloody mark. The Soul-Chasing Lamp almost slipped from my hand.

I recognize the poison on this needle; it's the Dark Moon Cult's unique "Bone-Corroding Powder," which causes festering wounds upon contact with spiritual veins—this was the shape of the wound on Senior Sister Qingwei's chest before her death.

"You killed Senior Sister Qingwei!" I pulled out the Ice Soul Sword that Wen Chen had given me; its blade hummed and condensed frost. "Her last message was 'Yin Fire Pattern, Back Mountain,' so you gave the key to the array's core to the Dark Moon Sect!"

His pupils contracted sharply, clearly not expecting me to know Qingwei's last words.

Taking advantage of his distraction, I swung my sword and unleashed an ice blade that shattered the storage pouch at his waist.

The contents inside tumbled to the ground: several Yin Fire Talismans, half a jade tablet with Yin Fire patterns identical to the one in the hidden compartment, and... a string of blood-stained beads—the Bodhi prayer beads that Senior Sister Qingwei never parted with!

"That bitch found the jade pendant!" He suddenly laughed maniacally, bending down to pick up the prayer beads. "I only pushed her, who knew she would fall off the cliff by herself?"

If she had obediently handed over the "Nine Luminaries True Technique," how could things have come to this...?

"Shut up!" My hand trembled as I swung my sword, the chill of the Ice Soul Sword seeping into my heart through my meridians.

Senior Sister Qingwei treated me like a younger sister. Every month on the fifteenth, she would bring me osmanthus cakes. The last thing she held in her hand before she fell off the cliff was this string of prayer beads.

I remember her icy fingers gripping my wrist, saying, "Yaoyao, investigate... Yin Fire..." It turns out the murderer was standing right in front of me!

Suddenly, the Ice Soul Sword burst forth with a blinding blue light. Before I could even form a hand seal, an ice dragon shot out from the sword and shattered Deacon Wu's protective aura.

He was thrown three zhang away by the impact, crashing into an old locust tree at the entrance of the alley, and spitting out a mouthful of black blood.

"You...how could you use the seventh level of the Ice Soul Technique?" He clutched his chest, blood seeping from under his fingernails. "That brat Wen Chen..."

I approached step by step, the tip of the Ice Soul Sword pressed against his throat: "What Wen Chen taught me was how to make the wicked pay the price."

He suddenly revealed a strange smile and pressed his right hand hard against his chest.

I saw a dark shadow flash beneath his clothes—a black token with the same pattern as the jade pendant. "Little girl, you think capturing me will stop the Dark Moon Cult?" His voice suddenly turned shrill, as if possessed by something. "The master said that if I am in trouble, I should summon the 'Shadow Guard'—"

"Shadow Guard?" Just as I was about to swing my sword, the shadows in the alley suddenly began to distort.

The shadow of the old locust tree climbed up the wall, and black mist seeped from the cracks in the bluestone slabs. Seven figures wrapped in black cloaks emerged from the mist, their faces hidden in the shadows, with only their eyes glowing with a dark red light, much like the evil cultivator's pupils I saw in Qingwei's wounds during her autopsy.

"This is..." I took a half step back, and the cold light of the Ice Soul Sword swept over them, but it didn't even leave a white mark.

The green light of the Soul-Chasing Lantern suddenly dimmed, and the wick burst out with a "sizzle," burning a hole in one of the shadows—but the hole only existed for a moment before being filled in by the black mist.

Deacon Wu took the opportunity to roll into the shadows, his laughter mingling with the low murmurs of the shadowy figures, echoing through the alley: "The Shadow Guards are death warriors refined by Lord Dark Moon using living people as sacrifices. Those below the Nascent Soul stage cannot harm them in the slightest... Xiao Yao, didn't you want to avenge Qingwei?"

We need to get past them first!

I gripped the Ice Soul Sword tightly, sweat dripping down the hilt of my palms.

Seven dark figures surrounded them in a fan shape. The one closest to them raised its hand and struck out with a palm strike, the air filled with the stench of rotting flesh.

I swung my sword to block, but it felt like I was hitting cotton; the force of the recoil made my hands go numb.

"The life-saving talisman Wen Chen gave me is in my left sleeve." I silently recited the emergency mantra he taught me, my fingertips touching the gold-embossed talisman in my sleeve. "Let's stall for time until Elder Xuan Yun arrives with his men..."

But the shadowy figure's attacks grew increasingly fierce. As I retreated to the corner, my back bumped against the rough bark of the old locust tree.

The moonlight was mostly obscured by dark clouds, leaving only the eerie green of the lanterns and the dark red of the shadows in the alley, like two intertwined will-o'-the-wisps.

Deacon Wu's laughter suddenly faded into the distance, and I caught a glimpse of his figure flashing past the alley entrance, running towards the cliff.

But the seven dark figures drew ever closer, and one of them had already touched the tip of my hair with its fingertip—the touch was bone-chillingly cold, like a wire soaking in ice water.

I gritted my teeth and crushed the life-saving talisman. In the instant the golden light flashed, I heard the shadowy figures let out piercing screams.

But this talisman only lasted for half an incense stick's time, until the golden light dissipated...

"Xiao Yao!"

Elder Xuan Yun's shout came from afar, and the green light of the Soul-Chasing Lamp suddenly shone brightly.

Using the light, I looked towards the alley entrance and saw Elder Xuanyun leading disciples of the Enforcement Hall rushing out from the moonlight, while Deacon Wu's black Taoist robe had already disappeared into the mist at the edge of the cliff.

The shadowy figures paused, as if receiving some kind of command, and suddenly turned and fled in the opposite direction.

I leaned against the old locust tree, catching my breath, watching their shadows blend into the night. Suddenly, I realized that I was still clutching the Bodhi prayer beads in my left hand—Qingwei's blood had long since dried, but the beads still retained the warmth of her fingertips.

"Chase him!" Elder Xuan Yun's sword finger sliced ​​through the air. "We absolutely cannot let him enter the secret passage!"

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, and the Ice Soul Sword once again condensed into frost. Deacon Wu, you think you can escape?

Moonlight streamed back into the alley. Gazing at the swirling mist towards the cliff, I suddenly remembered Wen Chen's words from yesterday: "If you encounter danger, call my name."

A faint melody drifted on the wind, as if someone had plucked the strings of a zither to evoke a sense of separation.

I gripped my prayer beads tightly and ran toward the cliff—this time, I would never let the murderer slip away again.