Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 32

Six days had passed since Yu Jingqiu and her companions left the sect, yet they still had not returned.

Yun Yao sat beneath the eaves supervising Chunting’s sword practice. Her heart had been restless all day, filled with concern for Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye.

Unable to continue teaching, she called Chunting back into the shade and wiped the sweat from his face.

At that moment, a group of people came up the mountain with an imposing air and headed directly toward Chengxin Waterside Pavilion.

Yun Yao rose and took Chunting by the hand. Looking at the approaching group, she asked in confusion, “Martial Uncles, what is this…”

Li Changhong led the group, with Yu Xiu on his left.

Looking at the others, Yun Yao realized that nearly every martial uncle still present in the sect had come.

Such an assembly meant that something serious must have happened.

She immediately thought of her senior sister and brother, who had failed to return as promised.

Her heart began pounding wildly, and the color gradually drained from her face.

Li Changhong gestured toward the pavilion.

“Search it!”

Several disciples walked past Yun Yao and Chunting and entered Chengxin Waterside Pavilion. Two female disciples proceeded directly into Yu Jingqiu’s bedchamber.

“Martial Uncle, what are you doing?”

Yun Yao turned toward Li Changhong, only to find his expression indifferent.

When she saw the disciples touching Yu Jingqiu’s belongings, anger flared inside her.

She stormed forward, seized one disciple by the arm, and shoved him aside.

“Do not touch my senior sister’s things!”

Li Changhong and the others also entered the pavilion.

One martial uncle asked, “Elder Li, why exactly did you summon all of us here?”

Li Changhong glanced behind him.

“Han Ling, explain it.”

“Yes.”

A man in blue robes stepped out from behind Li Changhong.

His eyes were lowered and his face expressionless. He completely ignored Yun Yao’s startled and furious gaze as he spoke in a flat voice.

“It happened the day after the sect master quarreled fiercely with Lou Jing and fell ill.

“I accidentally overheard Senior Sister Yu speaking with Elder Lou.

“Senior Sister Yu asked Elder Lou whether he knew about her origins. Elder Lou admitted that he did and attempted to persuade her.

“He said the sect master had concealed what happened to the Meng family for a reason. Because Yangshen’s identity was highly unusual, they had to act with caution.”

An uproar immediately arose.

Yun Yao saw that her martial uncles appeared either shocked or inscrutable.

One of them exclaimed, “Is this true?”

“Considering the sect master’s friendship with the Meng family, it is not impossible. Yet the sect master never revealed any of this.”

“Other than the sect master, perhaps only Elder Lou knew. But Shanjun’s origins truly are inconvenient to discuss… Aiya, what an ill-fated connection.”

Bewildered, Yun Yao asked, “What Meng family? What Yangshen? What does any of this have to do with what is happening today?”

Li Changhong said, “Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye departed six days ago. By all reasoning, they should already have returned, yet we have received no word from them.”

“Perhaps something delayed them,” Yun Yao replied.

Yu Xiu slowly said, “Elder Li, you may as well speak plainly.”

Li Changhong’s expression became severe.

“I suspect that someone harbors disloyal intentions and does not wish Elder Lou to awaken.”

Although he did not name anyone, everyone understood that the “someone” he spoke of was Yu Jingqiu.

Fire surged through Yun Yao’s chest.

She gritted her teeth.

“Martial Uncle has no evidence whatsoever. With nothing but empty words, you place such a grave accusation upon my senior sister while she is still exhausting herself outside for the sect.”

The moment she finished speaking, Han Ling brought forward a cage containing a carrier pigeon.

Li Changhong reached inside, caught the pigeon, and removed the message tied to its leg.

“This carrier pigeon was intercepted by my disciple Han Ling upon Xiangri Peak several days ago.”

He passed the note around for everyone to examine.

It read:

The elder Lou is dead, and the younger Lou gravely wounded.
Eliminate those who know the truth when the opportunity arises.
The position of sect master can belong to none but you.
Secure your foundations and avenge the great blood feud.
I will offer you my full assistance.
Do not forget my compensation.

Yun Yao also read it but remained entirely unconvinced.

“Does Elder Li intend to claim this letter was addressed to my senior sister?”

Li Changhong said nothing, tacitly confirming it.

Judging by the information contained in the note, everyone else also felt that it appeared to have been intended for Yu Jingqiu.

Among everyone in the room, only Yun Yao firmly refused to believe it.

She threw the note against Han Ling’s chest and stared coldly at him.

“Han Ling, my senior sister has always treated you well.

“Whenever you encountered difficulty and asked for her help, she never refused you.

“Yet now you use such despicable methods to harm and frame her. Do you have no conscience?”

Li Changhong said, “I am not afraid of being laughed at by any of you.

“You all know how deeply this disciple of mine admires Senior Sister Yu. Whenever he obtains something precious, he does not even think of his master before rushing to offer it to her.

“Could someone with his temperament deliberately plot against her?”

Han Ling caught the note and knelt before everyone.

“This disciple intercepted the pigeon some time ago.

“I feared Senior Sister would be punished, so I kept these secrets buried in my heart and hesitated for a long while.

“But now Senior Sister has gone to retrieve the medicine and has not returned for so long. I fear that one mistaken thought may lead her to commit an irreversible wrong.

“This disciple cannot bear to watch her stray onto an evil path, so I reported everything to Master.

“I concealed the matter and failed to report it promptly. If Elder Lou has been harmed because of me, this disciple willingly accepts punishment.”

Yun Yao pointed at Han Ling, her face reddening with fury.

“You!”

A disciple searching the pavilion approached carrying a pigeon cage.

“Elders, we found this cage.”

Everyone’s expressions became solemn.

Han Ling said to Yun Yao, “I once saw Senior Sister keeping an entire cage of pigeons. Junior Sister must also have seen them.

“I wonder where those pigeons have gone now.

“Could Junior Sister have released them?”

Yun Yao felt as though someone had struck her across the head with a club.

Her mind went blank.

She had indeed seen Yu Jingqiu keeping five or six pigeons.

Yu Jingqiu preferred peace and quiet. Even if she had found the birds novel and wished to raise them, she would never ordinarily have kept so many.

Yun Yao suddenly remembered the day Martial Uncle Yu discovered a method to save Martial Uncle Lou.

Her senior sister had released a carrier pigeon.

When Yun Yao asked about it, Yu Jingqiu had nervously concealed something from her.

These truly were… suspicious details.

Yun Yao could not help becoming unsettled. Her heart seemed to hang suspended in empty air.

Li Changhong ran a finger along the cage door woven from copper wire.

“She must have been exchanging messages with someone outside the mountain.”

Everyone fell silent.

Their suspicions had been aroused, and they were now wary of Yu Jingqiu’s origins. Their expressions were completely different from when they first arrived.

Yun Yao shook her head.

“Martial Uncle Wu and the other elders have nearly settled the matter already. They are merely waiting for Senior Sister to return and Martial Uncle Lou to awaken before selecting her as sect master.

“Why would she risk doing any of this and destroy her own future?”

“…Do you understand what that represents? It is a blood feud!”

Yet Yun Yao’s words caused several people to reconsider.

One martial uncle said, “But Shanjun was brought to Tiger Roar Mountain while she was still an infant. We all watched her grow up. It would not be excessive to call her our own daughter.

“She has always been humble, gentle, and unwilling to compete or fight for anything.

“How could such a child possibly…

“Even if she bears a blood feud, it has nothing to do with our Qianyuan Sect.”

Li Changhong suddenly laughed.

“One may know a person’s face but not their heart.”

The martial uncle frowned.

“Elder Li, those words are inappropriate. You may chill the hearts of every disciple in the sect.”

Li Changhong swept his sleeve and snorted.

“At a time when the sect’s very survival is at stake, I must speak even if it offends people.

“Before Lou Jing murdered her father, could any of you have imagined that she would commit such a monstrous act?

“The human heart is unfathomable!

“And since we have mentioned Lou Jing, everyone knows that Yu Jingqiu caught up with her on the night she escaped from prison.

“You all understand the difference between their martial abilities. Yet that night, Yu Jingqiu somehow failed to stop her.

“She reveres her master and has always regarded his commands as more important than anything. Why did she suddenly act against her nature and release a suspect accused of murdering him?”

Yun Yao pressed her lower lip together.

The bright, charming smile of a young woman who had never known the world’s suffering seemed to disappear along with her two dimples.

Her eyes reddened, and tears formed upon her lashes like raindrops upon pear blossoms.

She protested bitterly, “Ah-Jing has an isolated and fierce temperament. Elder Li says she killed Master—fine.

“Ah-Jing’s personality is not pleasing to ordinary people, so perhaps I cannot blame the martial uncles for suspecting her.

“But Senior Sister is approachable and has never held a grudge against anyone. She yields to others in everything and has always treated every elder with respect and affection. She has never contradicted any of you even once.

“Now even she is accused of harboring malicious intentions and plotting to murder her elders?

“Senior Sister and I grew up together and have spent every day by each other’s side. Does Martial Uncle understand her better than I do?

“My senior sister would never commit such an act!

“The sect suffered an upheaval, and Ah-Jing was imprisoned. Now it is Senior Sister’s turn.

“Why is it that the moment my master died, we martial sisters began suffering one false accusation after another?

“Does Martial Uncle intend to drive every one of us away?”

“Impudent!”

“Yao’er, how can you speak to Elder Li that way?”

Yun Yao looked at Li Changhong and then at Han Ling.

She could not understand how people could change entirely in the blink of an eye.

Had she simply never seen them clearly?

Or had they always worn masks, waiting for the proper moment to remove them and reveal their true faces?

“Master is gone, Martial Uncle Lou has not awakened, and Martial Uncle Lu has not returned.

“You bully us because no one from our peak remains to uphold justice for us.

“Martial Uncle uses his seniority to suppress us. Are you now forbidding me even to speak?”

Yun Yao’s voice became choked.

Chunting was still too young to understand what was happening. He only saw his senior sister arguing with others and appearing heartbroken and furious.

Unable to restrain himself, he burst into loud sobs.

Yu Xiu picked Chunting up and attempted to comfort him. Looking at Yun Yao, he sighed helplessly.

“You child…”

Li Changhong’s expression remained cold and hard.

He questioned Yun Yao relentlessly.

“You claim that you and Yu Jingqiu have spent every day together and that you understand your senior sister.

“But after all these years, did you know her true origins?

“Did you know whom she contacted with these carrier pigeons?”

Yun Yao had no answer.

“Exactly. There will always be matters you do not know.

“The sect master is now dead, while Elder Lou is gravely injured.

“Does the phrase ‘eliminate those who know the truth when the opportunity arises’ not clearly refer to Elder Lou, the surviving witness?

“The Qianyuan Sect is already swaying beneath the storm. We cannot afford to lose another master of the sword.

“Therefore, it is better to believe this warning mistakenly than to disregard it.”

Li Changhong alternated between severity and persuasion.

“I am not declaring her guilty at present. But she truly is suspicious.

“Caution allows a ship to sail for ten thousand years.

“To ensure that nothing happens to the Dewdrop Emerald Pearl and to save Elder Lou’s life, we cannot permit the slightest mistake.

“I will personally lead people to the snowy region.

“First, I will protect the Dewdrop Emerald Pearl so that it does not mysteriously become ‘lost,’ ‘stolen,’ or ‘misplaced.’

“Second, I will escort Yu Jingqiu back for questioning.”

The martial uncles nodded repeatedly.

“That is appropriate.”

Yun Yao had also become suspicious—but her suspicion was directed at the elders.

After her conversation with Lou Jing in the black prison, she had remained wary of every elder, especially Li Changhong.

“Martial Uncle Wu is responsible for interrogation and punishment. The sect’s rules cannot be changed.”

“Elder Wu has gone down the mountain to capture Lou Jing. If we wait for his return, we may delay this matter of life and death.

“In an emergency, one must act according to circumstances.”

An elder who held authority ordinarily had no need to explain his actions to a disciple.

However, because so many of his peers were present, Li Changhong still offered an explanation.

Yun Yao glanced at Yu Xiu.

Seeing that he raised no objection, she knew she could not prevent it.

Besides Li Changhong, Yu Xiu was the only elder currently managing the sect’s affairs.

But Yu Xiu had to watch over Lou Yan’s injuries and could not leave.

Elder Wu was absent.

If Elder Li insisted upon personally arresting Yu Jingqiu, who else could replace him?

Yet Yun Yao’s right eyelid twitched incessantly.

She feared that allowing Elder Li to escort Yu Jingqiu back would cause her senior sister to follow the same disastrous path as Lou Jing.

Finding nothing else suspicious inside Chengxin Waterside Pavilion, Li Changhong ordered a disciple to carry away the pigeon cage and departed with the others.

As they walked, one martial uncle said, “Our Qianyuan Sect has truly encountered terrible fortune.

“The sect master is dead, and Elder Lou is injured. We do not even know whether he can recover fully.

“Among the younger generation, Lou Jing and Yu Jingqiu were the two most outstanding disciples.

“Now Lou Jing has fled, and Yu Jingqiu also…

“Elder Li, when you arrest her, do not use excessive force. Until everything has been confirmed, do not injure her.”

Another martial uncle added, “Exercise the greatest caution.”

It was the height of summer. Everything was lush and filled with life.

A new leaf drifted from the branch of a flourishing tree.

Li Changhong caught it and stroked its tender green surface.

“Naturally, I understand.

“If she remains calm, submits willingly, and returns to the sect with me, why would I lay a hand upon her?”

After Li Changhong left, Yun Yao instructed Chunting not to wander away.

She then hurried toward the peak where Wu Qingtian resided.

She ran without pause and rushed directly into the disciples’ training grounds.

Two young disciples turned around and saw Yun Yao approaching in panic, visibly frightened and breathing heavily.

They hurried forward to support her.

“Senior Sister, what happened?”

The moment Yun Yao opened her mouth, tears began streaming down her face.

When Master was alive, when had the five martial siblings ever suffered such grievances?

“Elder Li suspects my senior sister intends to harm Martial Uncle Lou. He has gathered people and plans to travel to the snowy region to escort her back personally.”

The two disciples were greatly shocked.

“Junior Brothers, I am worried about Senior Sister’s safety. Could I trouble you to accompany Elder Li?

“Martial Uncle Wu has always been responsible for the sect’s laws and discipline. Even if Senior Sister has done something wrong, Elder Wu should be the one to arrest her.

“Martial Uncle Wu has not yet returned, but having his disciples present would at least offer some reassurance.”

“Senior Sister, do not worry. We will immediately prepare our luggage.”

One of them summoned two other junior disciples and instructed them to hurry down the mountain and inform Wu Qingtian, asking him to return.

“I am certain there must be some misunderstanding.

“Master has always been fond of Senior Sister Yu. Once he receives the news, he will immediately return and uphold justice for her.”

The two prepared their belongings, comforted Yun Yao, and hurried toward the main peak.

They arrived just as Li Changhong’s group was preparing to depart.

After the two explained their intentions, Li Changhong stared at them for a long while.

In the end, he nodded and agreed.

The group then set out for the snowy region.