Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 32

Six days had passed since Yu Jingqiu and her party left the sect, and there was still no sign of their return.

Yun Yao sat under the eaves, supervising Chun Ting’s sword practice. Her mind was restless, her thoughts consumed by worry for Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye. Unable to focus on teaching, she called Chun Ting into the shade and began to wipe the sweat from his brow.

At that moment, a group of people ascended from the foot of the mountain, moving with aggressive momentum until they reached the front of the Clear Heart Waterside Pavilion.

Yun Yao stood up, taking Chun Ting’s hand. She looked at the arrivals with confusion. “Martial Uncle, this is…”

Leading them was Li Changhong, with Yu Xiu on his left. Glancing at the others, it seemed almost every elder currently in the sect had come. Such a formation could only mean something major had happened. She immediately thought of her senior siblings who had missed their scheduled return; her heart hammered against her ribs, and the color drained from her face.

Li Changhong raised a hand toward the house and commanded, “Search!”

Several disciples pushed past Yun Yao and Chun Ting into the pavilion, while two female disciples headed toward Yu Jingqiu’s private chambers.

“Martial Uncle, what is the meaning of this!” Yun Yao spun around to look at Li Changhong, seeing only a cold, indifferent expression. When she saw the disciples touching Yu Jingqiu’s personal belongings, her temper flared. She stepped forward indignantly, grabbing a disciple’s arm and shoving them back. “Don’t touch my Senior Sister’s things!”

Li Changhong and the others entered the pavilion as well. One of the elders asked, “Elder Li, you called us all here—what exactly is this about?”

Li Changhong glanced back and signaled. “Han Ling, you tell them.”

“Yes.” A man in green robes stepped out from behind Li Changhong. His eyelids were lowered and his face was expressionless. He acted as if he didn’t see Yun Yao’s shocked and furious gaze. His voice was flat and direct. “It was the day after the Sect Leader had the great argument with Lou Jing, while he was unwell. I happened to overhear Senior Sister Yu speaking with Elder Lou. At that time, Senior Sister Yu asked the Elder about her heritage. Elder Lou admitted it and comforted her, saying the Sect Leader had a reason for hiding the truth of the Meng family from her—because her identity as a ‘Sun God’ (Yang Shen) descendant was unusual, and they had to act with caution.”

At these words, the room erupted in a clamor.

Yun Yao saw the elders either looking horrified or dark and unreadable. One elder gasped, “Is this true?!”

“Given the Sect Leader’s friendship with the Meng family, it’s not impossible. To think the Sect Leader never breathed a word of this.”

“Aside from the Sect Leader, only Elder Lou likely knew. But Shan Jun’s heritage is indeed… sigh, a tragic fate.”

Yun Yao, lost and confused, asked, “What Meng family? What Sun God? What does any of this have to do with what’s happening today?”

Li Changhong stated, “Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye have been gone for six days. By all logic, they should have returned by now, yet there is not a shred of news.”

Yun Yao countered, “Perhaps they were delayed by some business.”

Yu Xiu said slowly, “Elder Li, if you have something to say, say it plainly.”

Li Changhong’s expression turned stern. “I suspect someone harbors ulterior motives and does not want Elder Lou to wake up.”

Though Li Changhong did not name names, everyone understood that the “someone” he referred to was Yu Jingqiu.

A fire surged in Yun Yao’s chest. She gritted her teeth. “Martial Uncle, your words are baseless. You’re pinning such a massive accusation on my Senior Sister while she is out toiling for the sect.”

As the words fell, Han Ling brought forward a cage containing a carrier pigeon. Li Changhong reached into the cage, caught the bird, and removed the message from its leg. “This is a carrier pigeon intercepted on Xiangri Peak a few days ago by my disciple, Han Ling.”

Li Changhong passed the message around for everyone to read. The note said: Lou the First is dead, Lou the Second is heavily injured. For those who know the truth, seek an opportunity to eliminate them. The Sect Leader’s position belongs to no one but you. Stabilize your foundation to avenge the great wrong. I shall assist with all my might; do not forget the reward.

Yun Yao read it and scoffed. “Elder Li, are you trying to say this letter was meant for my Senior Sister?”

Li Changhong remained silent, offering a tacit confirmation. The others could also feel it; based on the information in the note, it truly seemed intended for Yu Jingqiu.

In the room, only Yun Yao resolutely refused to believe it. She threw the message at Han Ling’s chest and stared at him coldly. “Han Ling, my Senior Sister has treated you with nothing but kindness. Whenever you had a difficulty and sought her help, she never refused. And now you use such despicable means to harm and frame her? Do you have no heart!”

Li Changhong interjected, “Do not make us laugh. You all know how much my disciple admired his Senior Sister. When he found a treasure, he didn’t even care for me, his master—he insisted on bringing it to her first. With a temperament like his, would he commit intentional slander?”

Han Ling caught the note and knelt before the crowd. “I intercepted this pigeon long ago. Fearing Senior Sister would be punished, I suppressed these secrets in my heart. I hesitated for a long time. But now, seeing that she has not returned with the medicine, I fear she has had a lapse in judgment and is about to make a terrible mistake. I cannot bear to see her stray onto the wrong path, so I reported it to my Master. If my silence has harmed Uncle Lou, I am willing to accept punishment.”

Yun Yao pointed at Han Ling, her face flushing red with rage. “You!”

The disciples searching the pavilion came forward with a pigeon cage and reported, “Elder, we found the cage.”

Seeing the cage, the elders’ expressions grew heavy.

Han Ling said to Yun Yao, “I once saw a cage of pigeons kept by Senior Sister. I imagine you have seen them too. I wonder where those pigeons have gone now? Did you release them, Junior Sister?”

Yun Yao felt as if she had been struck by a heavy club; her mind went blank for an instant.

She had indeed seen a cage of pigeons kept by Yu Jingqiu—five or six of them. Yu Jingqiu loved quiet; even if she found them novel and wanted to keep them, she certainly wouldn’t keep as many as five or six.

She suddenly remembered the day Martial Uncle Yu found the cure for Uncle Lou; her Senior Sister had released a pigeon, and when asked, she had flusteredly hidden something.

These were indeed… suspicious points.

She was overcome with panic, her heart feeling as if it were suspended in a void.

Li Changhong ran his finger along the copper wires of the cage door. “She was clearly corresponding with someone outside the mountain.”

The crowd remained silent, their suspicions piqued. Fearing Yu Jingqiu’s heritage, their expressions were now vastly different from when they arrived.

Yun Yao shook her head. “Martial Uncle Wu and the others had almost settled the matter. As soon as Senior Sister returned and Uncle Lou woke up, she was to be elected Sect Leader. Why would she risk everything to do this? It would be destroying her own future.”

Li Changhong gave a cold laugh. “You don’t understand what the ‘Sun God’ identity means. It means a blood feud!”

But Yun Yao’s words had awakened a few. One elder said, “But Shan Jun was brought to Tiger Roar Mountain while she was still in swaddling clothes. We watched her grow up; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she is like our own daughter. She is humble, gentle, and uncompetitive. How could a child like that… even if she has a blood feud, it has nothing to do with our Qian Yuan Sect.”

Li Changhong suddenly laughed. “You may know a person’s face, but not their heart.”

The elder frowned. “Elder, those are reckless words. You risk breaking the hearts of the disciples.”

Li Changhong flicked his sleeve and snorted. “At a time of survival for the sect, I must speak even if it offends people. Before Lou Jing committed parricide, did any of you think she was capable of such a rebellious act? The human heart is unpredictable! And speaking of Lou Jing—on the night she escaped, Yu Jingqiu caught up to her. You all know the disparity in their power, yet that day Yu Jingqiu failed to stop her. She is devoted to her Master and has always held his commands in high regard—why did she act so out of character that day and let the suspect who murdered her teacher escape?”

Yun Yao bit her lower lip. Her bright, carefree smile and her dimples had vanished. Her eyes grew red, like raindrops forming on pear petals. She protested, “A’Jing is isolated and fierce. Elder Li says she killed Master—fine, A’Jing’s temperament isn’t liked by most, so I cannot blame the Uncles for doubting her. But Senior Sister is easy-going, has never held a grudge, yields to everyone, and treats her elders with nothing but respect—she has never even talked back once! What, and now she too is harborer of ill intent and a murderer of her elders? Senior Sister and I grew up together; do the Uncles know her better than I do? My Senior Sister would never do such a thing! First the sect falls into turmoil and A’Jing is jailed, and now it’s Senior Sister’s turn. Is it that as soon as my Master dies, us sisters are to be framed one after another? Is the Uncle trying to drive us all away!”

“Presumptuous!”

“Yao’er, how dare you speak to Elder Li that way.”

Yun Yao looked at Li Changhong and then at Han Ling. She wondered how a person could change so much in the blink of an eye. Was it that she never truly knew them, or was it that they wore masks until the time came to tear them off and reveal their true faces? “Master is gone, Uncle Lou hasn’t woken up, and Uncle Lu hasn’t returned. You bully us because there is no one on our peak to represent us. You use your status as elders to suppress us—are you now forbidding me from even speaking?”

Yun Yao’s voice choked up. Little Chun Ting didn’t quite understand the situation, but seeing his Senior Sister arguing and looking so heartbroken and angry, he couldn’t help but burst into a loud, wailing cry.

Yu Xiu took Chun Ting into his arms to comfort him. Looking at Yun Yao, he said helplessly, “You child…”

Li Changhong’s face remained hard. He interrogated Yun Yao: “You say you grew up with Yu Jingqiu and claim to know her. But in all these years, did you know her heritage? Did you know whom she used those pigeons to contact?”

Yun Yao was speechless.

“Indeed, there are things you do not know. As it stands, the Sect Leader is dead and Elder Lou is heavily injured. The letter mentioned ‘eliminating them at an opportunity’—does that not refer to Elder Lou, the witness? In these turbulent times, the Qian Yuan Sect cannot afford to lose another sword master. Therefore, we would rather doubt wrongly than ignore the threat.” Li Changhong used both soft and hard tactics. “I am not sentencing her yet, but she is indeed under suspicion. To be safe is better than to be sorry. To ensure the Emerald Drop Pearl is secured and Elder Lou’s life is saved, this cannot go wrong. I will personally lead men to the Snowy Region. Firstly, to protect the pearl so it doesn’t get ‘lost’ or ‘stolen.’ Secondly, to escort Yu Jingqiu back for interrogation.”

The elders nodded, saying in unison, “This is appropriate.”

Yun Yao also felt suspicion, but her suspicion was directed at the elder. Because of her talk with Lou Jing in the Black Jail, she was wary of the elders, especially Elder Li. “Elder Wu is the one in charge of discipline and interrogation. The sect rules cannot be changed.”

“Elder Wu went down the mountain to capture Lou Jing. If we wait for his return, we risk losing a life-or-death opportunity. We must act out of necessity.” As an elder with power, he didn’t need to explain himself to a disciple, but seeing his peers present, Li Changhong felt obliged to elaborate.

Yun Yao glanced at Yu Xiu. Seeing that he did not object, she knew she could not stop it.

Currently, the only ones managing the sect were Li Changhong and Yu Xiu. But Yu Xiu had to look after Lou Yan and couldn’t leave. Elder Wu was away. If Elder Li insisted on going himself, who could take his place?

But Yun Yao’s right eye was twitching. She was terrified that if Elder Li went to escort Yu Jingqiu back, she would meet the same fate as Lou Jing.

Finding no other suspicious items in the pavilion, Li Changhong had a disciple take the pigeon cage and left with the crowd.

On the way, speaking of Yu Jingqiu, one elder said, “Our Qian Yuan Sect is suffering ill fortune. The Sect Leader is gone, and we don’t know if Elder Lou will ever recover. Among the new generation, only Lou Jing and Yu Jingqiu are outstanding. Now Lou Jing has fled and Yu Jingqiu… Elder Li, when you take her, do not be too heavy-handed. Before everything is certain, do not harm her.”

Another elder added, “Be careful, be careful.”

It was summer, lush and full of life. A fresh leaf fell from a branch into Li Changhong’s hand. Stroking the green surface, he said, “I understand that, naturally. If she complies and returns to the sect with me, how could I strike her?”

As soon as Li Changhong was gone, Yun Yao told Chun Ting not to run off and hurried toward the peak where Elder Wu’s disciples resided. She ran with all her might, not daring to stop, until she burst into the disciples’ training grounds.

Two young disciples turned to see Yun Yao arrive in a panic, her chest heaving as if she had been frightened. They rushed forward to support her. “Senior Sister, what happened?”

The moment Yun Yao opened her mouth, tears flowed. She thought of when Master was alive; when had the five of them ever suffered such grievances? “Elder Li suspects my Senior Sister intends to harm Elder Lou. He has taken men to the Snowy Region to personally escort her back!”

The two were shocked.

“Junior Brothers, I fear for my Senior Sister’s safety. Can I trouble you to follow Elder Li? I believe Martial Uncle Wu should be the one in charge of the sect laws; even if she has faulted, he should be the one to escort her. Since he is away, having his disciples there will at least provide some peace of mind.”

“Do not worry, Senior Sister. The two of us will pack our gear immediately.” One of them called over two more disciples, telling them to go down the mountain immediately to inform Wu Qingtian and ask him to return. “I believe there must be a misunderstanding. Our Master always loved Senior Sister Yu. Once he hears the news, he will surely return to the mountain to ensure justice is done.”

The two finished packing, comforted Yun Yao, and immediately headed for the main peak, catching up just as Li Changhong’s party was setting out.

They stated their intentions. Li Changhong stared at them for a long time but eventually nodded and agreed.

The party set out for the Snowy Region.