Chapter 103: The Woman Who Gave Up
Guided by a young Daoist acolyte, Shi Hao passed through the mountain gate and headed up the mountain.
This was the main temple of the Chongxian Sect. Usually, many people would come here to pray or listen to sermons.
But today, the gates were closed, and the mountain was eerily quiet.
The rain had cleared the air, but a sense of oppression hung over Mount Qian Yuan.
Lu Jin, the Azure Dragon Immortal Warrior, had been the most powerful expert residing in Dàxīng City. His presence alone had kept the three gangs and six societies in check.
It had been a long time since the Chongxian Sect had lost such a powerful figure.
Their main temple was located far to the south. With Lu Jin gone, anxiety filled the air.
Although the Chongxian Sect claimed to be the orthodox leader of the Daoist sects, their reputation among the common people and the martial world was poor.
“Recluse Zhuo is in this courtyard,” the acolyte bowed and left.
Shi Hao entered the courtyard.
Female Daoist cultivators were relatively rare in the Chongxian Sect. And in this main temple, the quarters assigned to them were usually secluded.
Several parasol trees lined the elegant cobblestone path, and marble statues of phoenixes adorned the distant pavilion, adding to the courtyard’s serene atmosphere.
A rock garden, a small stream, two pavilions, and a red-lacquered waterside gazebo stood beside the pavilion.
Zhuo Mulan stood before the rock garden, holding a horsetail whisk, her face grim.
Shi Hao approached and bowed, “Greetings, Recluse Zhuo.”
With a flick of her wrist, the horsetail whisk transformed into a shower of sword light, each strand a sharp blade, sweeping towards Shi Hao.
Her attack was swift and merciless.
Shi Hao shouted, “Yuejiao…”
Zhuo Mulan’s whisk faltered.
Seizing the opportunity, Shi Hao, ignoring the fact that he wasn’t disguised, used the Soul Chasing Locking Steps, closing the distance instantly, and struck several of her acupoints with the Severing Meridian Burning Heart Finger.
Zhuo Mulan collapsed, and Shi Hao caught her.
Zhuo Mulan’s voice trembled, “You… you…”
Shi Hao smiled, his usual gentle demeanor now replaced by a cold menace, “It seems you’ve figured it out.”
Zhuo Mulan, in his arms, closed her eyes, tears welling up, “What… what are you going to do?”
Shi Hao smiled, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything.”
He lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the pavilion adorned with phoenix statues. He entered, looked around, and then ascended the winding staircase.
The upper floor had two rooms, both open.
He entered one. Silk curtains hung from the canopy bed, the bedding neatly folded. A bronze mirror sat on the dressing table, and a colorful Daoist robe hung on a wooden clothes rack.
A tea set and some Daoist scriptures lay on the table, and a cabinet displayed various trinkets a young woman might enjoy.
He placed Zhuo Mulan on the bed and looked around, “Is this Yuejiao’s room?”
Zhuo Mulan’s voice was filled with hatred, “How dare you mention her name! What have you done to her?!”
Shi Hao realized he had come here in vain… Zhuo Mulan didn’t know where her disciple was.
He had called out “Yuejiao” earlier to make her hesitate, exploiting her concern for her disciple.
He sat beside her on the bed, his arm around her, and smiled, “When did you start suspecting me?” His fingers traced her skin beneath her robe.
Zhuo Mulan, fighting back the strange, tingling sensations, gritted her teeth, “It wasn’t difficult to guess. That villain used both demonic and Daoist techniques. Although I’ve never heard of such a thing, seeing it with my own eyes… I couldn’t deny it.”
“And thinking back, in Jin Prefecture, we didn’t suspect you of being the one who kidnapped Yuejiao because we made the same mistake. Disguises are common, but the one who took Yuejiao was a demonic cultivator, and you used pure Daoist techniques. Who would have thought that the villain who used demonic arts and the hero who used Daoist techniques were the same person?”
Shi Hao asked, “So you started suspecting me after returning here?”
Zhuo Mulan said, “I only suspected. Now I’m certain. What… what have you done to Yuejiao? Do whatever you want to me, just… leave her alone!”
Shi Hao sighed, his face changing, the gentle features replaced by the sharp, menacing visage of the “hooked-nosed villain.” He leaned in and kissed her, a sinister smile on his face, “You didn’t tell anyone about our little secret. That’s good. I’ll do whatever I want to you, but don’t worry, I won’t harm Yuejiao.
“In fact, I’m just as worried about her as you are.”
Zhuo Mulan said, “I don’t believe you.”
Shi Hao chuckled, “What don’t you believe? That I’ll harm you, or that I’m worried about Yuejiao? Well, there’s no point in hiding it now. Do you know what that doll that’s been following Yuejiao is?
“It’s called the Emerald Beauty, a mysterious and powerful artifact of the demonic sects. At least four factions are searching for it: the Ghost Extreme Sect, the Black Lotus Realm, the Moon Lotus Pavilion, and the Mirror Flower Water Moon Pavilion. And there might be others as well.
“I don’t know what it wants with Yuejiao, but it’s not safe for her to be near it. I know she’s gone, but if she left on her own, she would have sent you a message.
“The fact that even you don’t know where she is… it’s worrying.”
Zhuo Mulan’s body trembled under his touch, but her concern for her disciple made her endure the strange sensations, her face paling, “The Emerald Beauty? A demonic artifact?”
Yuejiao’s attachment to that doll had been excessive, carrying it everywhere, even keeping it by her bedside while she slept.
Now that she thought about it, the doll had indeed been creepy, and Yuejiao’s obsession with it, unnatural.
Shi Hao knew he had to come here.
If Zhuo Mulan knew where Yuejiao was, he could get a lead.
And if she didn’t, it was even more important for him to be here. That night, he had revealed his dual cultivation, and Zhuo Mulan, having had time to think about it, might have realized something was amiss with “Shi Hao.”
However, the humiliation of that night, her loss of control, would make her reluctant to speak of it.
But now, with her disciple missing, her concern for Yuejiao might override her shame, and she might reveal their “little secret,” alerting the Chongxian Sect.
He had to convince her that he hadn’t harmed Yuejiao, that he was also worried about her.
And he also had to… deepen their “little secret,” ensuring her silence.
So, he used the Butterfly Flower Finger on her again…
An hour later, Zhuo Mulan lay in his arms, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her face, a mixture of shame and… something else.
She had been violated by her disciple’s lover, on her disciple’s bed, losing all control, abandoning all restraint.
She knew she could never go back.
She had suspected him from the beginning, and after he had “walked into her trap,” she hadn’t told anyone, staying behind alone… Perhaps she had been hoping for this.
She had always been a virtuous and disciplined Daoist cultivator. How had she become this?
Was she truly, as he had said, no better than a brothel girl?
Shi Hao held her close, covered by Yuejiao’s blanket, his touch gentle, no longer using the Butterfly Flower Finger.
He asked, “I asked you to investigate the Yuan Dan Huo family. What did you find out?”
The beautiful Daoist nun, having abandoned all pretense of virtue, clung to him, seeking comfort, tears streaming down her face, “I knew… I knew all along. I knew what those people in the sect were doing, seizing land, exploiting the people.
“I knew they were all hypocrites, some preying on young women, others ruining families with their power. I knew all of this, but I pretended not to see.
“I wanted Yuejiao to believe she lived in a righteous environment. But this sect is rotten to the core. I watched Yuejiao grow up. I wanted to create a pure and untainted world for her, so I avoided all those dirty secrets, pretended they didn’t exist.
“But I knew… I knew they were all beyond redemption. But what could I do? I was powerless.”
Shi Hao sighed softly, “Do you know why Zhao Xian, the Peerless Sword, killed Lu Jin? Because Lu Jin was the one who slaughtered Zong Youbi’s family, the ‘Confucian Hero of Xun River.’ He earned that title through a lifetime of righteous deeds.
“But Lu Jin murdered his entire family, even violated his daughter. He thought he had eliminated all witnesses, but one survived, hidden by a magical weapon.
“Zhao Xian had no personal grudge against Lu Jin. He risked his life simply because… he couldn’t stand for such injustice.”
Zhuo Mulan trembled. Although she knew the lower ranks of the Chongxian Sect were corrupt, she had still believed the higher-ups were righteous, trying to maintain order and restore the sect’s honor.
But now, even Lu Jin, one of the Eight Immortal Warriors, had committed such a heinous act.
Her last shred of faith in the Chongxian Sect shattered—
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