The Feud Between Sun Wenzhu and Shangguan Tusu

Sun Wenzhu harbored a major secret, one tied to Shangguan Tusu. Sun Wenzhu and Shangguan Tusu were at odds, bound by an enmity that almost certainly involved life and death. Everyone knew this. Ever since Xu Hao had let it slip back then, Sun Wenzhu's reactions had been far too obvious. Moreover, from the way he scurried about collecting spirit herbs and deadly poisons, it was plainly not for his own cultivation; naturally, it was meant to deal with Shangguan Tusu. Yet Wang Yu had never expected Sun Wenzhu to gather the necessary ingredients so quickly, nor had he anticipated that he would make a move against Shangguan Tusu this soon. Over the meal, Leng Jiangzhu recounted the details of what had transpired. After descending Mount Tianshan, Leng Jiangzhu and Sun Wenzhu had entered Chuanxi Circuit by way of the Xingxiu Sea. From then on, they traveled back and forth through Chuanxi and Chuannan Circuits, deliberately steering clear of Yushui Prefecture where Huichun Valley was situated and confining their movements to the western reaches of the two circuits. Sun Wenzhu was deeply experienced, and during this period the two of them gathered a considerable stash of spirit herbs and venomous reagents. The vast majority of the ingredients needed for the Three-Phase Three-Extinction Powder had been acquired along the way. Roughly half a month ago, as the two traveled through Qushui Prefecture in Chuannan Circuit, they abruptly spotted Shangguan Tusu. He was acting furtively, traveling in disguise; had Sun Wenzhu not been intimately familiar with his build and gait, they likely would have overlooked him entirely. They trailed him in secret, discovering that Shangguan Tusu had come covertly to Qushui Prefecture to meet someone in private. But given Shangguan Tusu's profound cultivation, neither of them dared draw too close, so they could not see who he was meeting. Still, it was rare for Shangguan Tusu to leave Huichun Valley. Such an opportunity could not be missed, and Sun Wenzhu resolved to act. When Shangguan Tusu temporarily stepped out of his inn, Sun Wenzhu left a letter on the table in his room. He then laid an ambush at a dilapidated Mountain God temple outside Qushui Prefecture and waited in silence. However, he refused to let Leng Jiangzhu get too close. Instead, he stationed her three li away in the woods to provide backup, choosing to face Shangguan Tusu on his own. "And you just agreed?" "He said poison has no eyes, and that against Shangguan Tusu, he had no way of guaranteeing my safety." Good grief! Wang Yu was utterly speechless once more! Leng Jiangzhu had attained the Xiantian realm at eighteen, making her the chief disciple of the Meishan Sect's new generation. Aside from Fang Shaobai, her talent surpassed even Liu Wuchen's! And you, Sun Wenzhu, are already in your mid-twenties, still bumming around in Houtian, not even knowing if you'll ever step into Xiantian in this lifetime—yet you had the gall to brazenly claim you couldn't protect Leng Jiangzhu's safety? What's that? You can poison Xiantian experts to death? And this time, the one you were dealing with was a Xiantian Grandmaster? Oh, well then, never mind! Leng Jiangzhu had waited in the woods until three quarters into the hour of the Dog, only to see Sun Wenzhu stumble out among the trees. He grabbed her, gasped out a single plea—"Run"—and collapsed unconscious. Leng Jiangzhu had dared not linger. Sweeping Sun Wenzhu into her arms, she fled, racing all the way from Qushui Prefecture in Chuannan Circuit back to Ningyuan Prefecture in Chuanxi Circuit. Only after finding an inn in a county town to settle down did Sun Wenzhu groggily regain consciousness. Sun Wenzhu told Leng Jiangzhu that he had ambushed Shangguan Tusu with the Three-Phase Three-Extinction Powder. Shangguan Tusu had certainly suffered for it, but Sun Wenzhu had also been struck by one of Shangguan Tusu's poisons. Faced with this poison, his own detoxification pills could suppress it, but they could not eradicate it, and in time, their efficacy would fade. Only Wang Yu, using his dual inner energies of ice and fire to alternately freeze and scorch, cycling between cold and heat, could dissolve the poison's potency. So Leng Jiangzhu had arranged for him to stay with a household in a quiet corner of the county town, before racing without rest straight toward Longshan Prefecture. "Don't worry, I have plenty of experience with treating injuries and dispelling poison!" Wang Yu said with a nod of understanding, thumping his chest in reassurance. "First thing tomorrow morning, we depart." On the other side of the table, Fang Shaobai held Sun Wenzhu in high regard as well. In truth, he had been reluctant to meddle in Huichun Valley's internal affairs, but with Leng Jiangzhu vouching for him this time, and Shangguan Tusu's conduct seeming rather suspicious, Fang Shaobai was ready to lend a hand. "I'll go with you," Fang Shaobai said, setting down his wine cup. "Shangguan Tusu is a Xiantian Grandmaster. If he tracks you down, you won't be his match." Whether it was Leng Jiangzhu or Wang Yu, neither stood a chance against a Xiantian Grandmaster. Only Fang Shaobai could contend above his realm against a Grandmaster. And against a Grandmaster like Shangguan Tusu, who had advanced through elixirs and might even be suffering from poison, Fang Shaobai could very well emerge victorious. Leng Jiangzhu nodded to convey her thanks. Wang Yu turned to Fang Shaobai. "We might run into a Xiantian Grandmaster this time. I had a few suits of chainmail undershirts made. Do you want one?" During the battle beyond the pass last time, Wang Yu had confronted Zhaixingzi head-on. Looking back, it had been a close shave. Upon his return, he had ordered several chainmail undershirts crafted for himself. These undershirts were woven from gold thread wrapped around refined steel, combining flexibility and toughness. To keep them lightweight, they were not overly thick, covering only the chest and back—less a suit of armor and more a vest. They could ward off ordinary blades, hidden weapons, and palm strikes. Even against a foe of supreme martial prowess, the armor could at least soften the blow, preventing the wearer from taking the full brunt of a strike and sparing their life. Fang Shaobai shook his head in refusal. "I'm not used to wearing such things." Wang Yu did not push. He simply turned to Li Yunxiu. "Prepare one for me." Li Yunxiu nodded. "Understood." Next, the conversation turned back to the exchange between Sun Wenzhu and Xu Hao on Mount Tianshan the previous year. Li Yunxiu asked Leng Jiangzhu, "Did Sun Wenzhu still not tell you what enmity exists between him and Shangguan Tusu?" Leng Jiangzhu paused for a moment. "He did." Ardai asked eagerly, "What is it?" Leng Jiangzhu spaced each word out with deliberate emphasis. "He said that Senior Sun Baisu, the previous valley master of Huichun Valley, was murdered by Shangguan Tusu." "Hsss—" Everyone drew in a sharp breath. Sun Baisu, the previous valley master of Huichun Valley, had been merely an ordinary Xiantian, yet every Xiantian Grandmaster treated him with utmost reverence. Apart from his nearing ninety years of age and his towering prestige, it was his benevolent heart as a healer, saving lives and curing ailments across the jianghu for decades, that earned him such devotion. No one could count how many martial masters he had saved. Yet about three years ago, Sun Baisu passed away. No one thought anything amiss. Sun Baisu was advanced in years, and though his dedication to health and regimen had kept his constitution sound, people like that were all the more prone to passing away peacefully without illness. After Sun Baisu's passing, it was only natural for Shangguan Tusu, as the designated heir, to take charge of Huichun Valley. Yet that was precisely the crux of the matter. "Shangguan Tusu was already the heir appointed by Old Valley Master Sun. Why would he murder the old valley master?" Fang Shaobai asked incredulously. "I don't know, and Brother Sun doesn't know either," Leng Jiangzhu said, shaking her head. Li Yunxiu asked, "How did he find out that Shangguan Tusu murdered Senior Sun?" "Because Brother Sun had checked Senior Sun's pulse just days before he passed away, and he felt that he shouldn't have died. So he secretly exhumed Senior Sun's body and examined his remains," Leng Jiangzhu explained. "Then he discovered that Senior Sun had actually succumbed to a very peculiar poison. Suspecting a traitor within Huichun Valley, he didn't dare make a public fuss. Instead, he went to report the matter to Shangguan Tusu in the dead of night." Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu exchanged a glance, realization dawning upon them. It seemed that night was the very same night Xu Hao had gone to Half-Moon Cliff to water the moon grass and caught Sun Wenzhu talking with Shangguan Tusu. That was how Xu Hao knew Sun Wenzhu's rebellion and departure from Huichun Valley were linked to Shangguan Tusu. "But while reporting the matter to Shangguan Tusu, he suddenly spotted a stalk of three-pointed horned hemp in Shangguan Tusu's courtyard." Leng Jiangzhu continued, "He said his hands were trembling at the time. Ordinary horned hemp is more poisonous than medicinal, with a very narrow range of uses, and it mostly grows in the Miao Frontier. Three-pointed horned hemp is the rarest and most potent variety among them. "More importantly, it suddenly dawned on him that one of the toxins in the poison that killed Senior Sun came from three-pointed horned hemp." Though it was merely Leng Jiangzhu recounting the tale, and despite her cool temperament and flat, uninflected delivery, everyone who listened held their breath, their hearts tightening with tension. One had to realize that back then, while Shangguan Tusu had not yet become a Grandmaster, Sun Wenzhu was merely an ordinary disciple of Huichun Valley. It would have been child's play for Shangguan Tusu to kill him. Leng Jiangzhu continued, "Back then, he didn't dare show the slightest sign of suspicion. He simply asked Shangguan Tusu to decide on the matter. Although he suspected Shangguan Tusu was the culprit, he lacked evidence." Li Yunxiu asked, "And then Shangguan Tusu gave Brother Sun the evidence?" Leng Jiangzhu nodded. "Shangguan Tusu then asked him if he had told anyone else about this." Everyone drew in another sharp breath. Ardai asked, "How did Sun Wenzhu answer?" Leng Jiangzhu said, "He said he had told one person—someone absolutely trustworthy." Li Yunxiu chuckled. "Brother Sun was very clever." If Sun Wenzhu had spoken the truth and admitted he hadn't told anyone, he might never have lived to see the next day's sunrise. If Sun Wenzhu had named a specific person, neither he nor that person would have lived to see tomorrow's sun. Only by stating that someone knew without naming who could he keep himself alive. When Shangguan Tusu did not yet know Sun Wenzhu suspected him, pressing for a name would likely have put Sun Wenzhu on guard. From Shangguan Tusu's perspective, once Sun Wenzhu became suspicious and refused to speak even under threat of death, Shangguan Tusu's only choice would be to kill him. But if the person who knew found out Sun Wenzhu was dead, suspicion would immediately fall upon Shangguan Tusu. At that point, Shangguan Tusu was completely above suspicion. Naturally, he wouldn't bring trouble upon himself. It was far better to placate Sun Wenzhu first, uncover the other person's identity, and then send them both to the afterlife together. Li Yunxiu smiled. "Did Shangguan Tusu tell Sun Wenzhu not to speak of it to anyone else, and to wait while he investigated in secret?" Leng Jiangzhu nodded. "Precisely." "And then Brother Sun stole the nine-leaf purple perilla and fled Huichun Valley?" Wang Yu asked. Leng Jiangzhu nodded. "Indeed." Only then did everyone exhale a long breath of relief. The thrilling tale had finally come to an end. For this trip, Wang Yu did not intend to bring Li Yunxiu or Ardai along. "It's just a trip to Chuanxi Circuit. We should be back in a few days. We might even bring Sun Wenzhu back here to recuperate," Wang Yu said. "I'll try to go and return as fast as possible." Li Yunxiu had no objections. She already had her hands full, and since this was strictly jianghu business, she had never planned on coming along in the first place. Ardai, on the other hand, had wanted to join him, but considering that Wang Yu was setting out on serious business that wouldn't take long, and that he, Fang Shaobai, and Leng Jiangzhu were all Xiantian experts—meaning she might only be a burden if they encountered Shangguan Tusu and came to blows—she decided against it as well. However, it meant Wang Yu had to work hard the night before his departure. In Li Yunxiu's quarters on the left, the sounds lingered through the first half of the night; in Ardai's quarters on the right, the sounds continued through the second half. Early the next morning, sporting dark circles under his eyes, Wang Yu waited at the manor gates as Zhao Shan and Zhao He led out mounts for the group. Wang Yu swung into the saddle, Zhao Shan and Zhao He attending at his side. He looked across to Fang Shaobai and Leng Jiangzhu. "Shall we depart?" Fang Shaobai nodded. "Let's go!" Leng Jiangzhu had long grown impatient. She cracked her riding crop without hesitation. "Hah!" The group of five rode straight toward the south.