Chapter 83
"How could this happen!"
Poisoning.
His disciple had been murdered in the Tang Clan's residence, and a strong trace of poison was found at the scene, to the extent that a mist was rising.
Tang Yizheng could not hide his bewilderment.
Tang Yizheng, who had hurriedly covered his nose and mouth with a poison-proof cloth, rushed to Wu Guang's side, who was trembling in anger.
"First, this..."
"I don't need it!"
The angry Wu Guang circulated the Two Forms Infinite Divine Art.
As Wu Guang swung his sword, which was flowing with sword qi, the poison qi that had remained around Dao Weibu's body was instantly burned up.
Wu Guang, as soon as the poison qi was purified by his one sword, flew his body in an instant and approached Dao Weibu's body.
Dao Weibu's body, which had hardened, was decaying with a foul stench, and the discolored skin and the rapid decay proved that Dao Weibu had been poisoned by a strong poison.
Wu Guang carefully lifted the chipped Tai Chi Sword that was held in his right hand.
"Who dares to do such a thing..."
The Tai Chi Sword was the symbol of the Wudang Sect.
Although its edge was not sharp because it was not a sword made for killing, its strength and flexibility were of a level that could be called a famous sword.
Moreover, the user of the Tai Chi Sword was his disciple, Dao Weibu.
But to think that it had become like this made it difficult to easily predict the opponent.
Looking around, the traces of poison had not yet disappeared from the air, and there were marks that were ankle-deep in various places.
It meant that the opponent who had competed with Dao Weibu had a strong internal energy or had used a fairly large and hard object.
But what was incomprehensible were the traces on the ground that looked as if they had been swept.
What kind of weapon in the world could leave such a trace?
"To meet such a fate in a foreign land after meeting a poor master..."
Wu Guang was seized with sorrow and shed tears.
He was a promising disciple, and a disciple who had caught his eye.
Who would have expected that he would die in such a state, when it had been just a short while ago that he had been happy to have left the Wudang Sect and to have made his debut in the martial world?
Moreover, Wu Guang's heart was heavier and more painful than ever at the fact that such an accident had happened even though he, his master, had been close by.
As much as the grieving Wu Guang, Shen Naye, who was left behind, was also holding back her tears and was bowing her head.
"Naye, tell me in detail what happened."
Wu Guang, who had swallowed his pain by biting his lip, quietly opened his mouth.
Wu Guang's voice, which was filled with a great anger that could freeze the surroundings, was enough to make the anxious Tang Yizheng's heart sink.
"Since it was stuffy to be in the mansion, my senior went out for a while to get some fresh air, and then there were small noises. At first, I thought it was the sound that my senior had made while practicing martial arts alone, but... since it seemed too noisy for him to be practicing alone, when I went out to find my senior, it was already..."
"Did you not find the appearance of the monster who committed this act?"
"I saw something that looked like a person's figure disappearing from a distance, but I could not be sure. It seemed that it was wrapping its body with a long cloth or something, but... since I had found it at the moment it was disappearing..."
'Nezha!'
Who would dare to do such a thing in the Tang Clan?
Tang Yizheng prayed that it was someone who had a grudge against the Tang Clan and had devised a plan using poison.
Although he had hoped inwardly that it would not be so, he closed his eyes tightly after hearing Shen Naye's explanation.
The long cloth she had seen was surely the Universe Ring that Nezha used to hide his body.
The Universe Ring was a treasure that his wife, Mrs. Yin, had brought when she had married into the Tang Clan, and it had the effect of a poison-proof cloth that could block ten thousand poisons, and it was a mysterious silk that would change to the strength of steel if internal energy were to be injected.
Mrs. Yin and Tang Yizheng, who were worried that Nezha's poison energy would harm the surroundings, had given Nezha the Universe Ring and had made him hide his body.
Perhaps the marks on the ground and the walls that had been swept were surely the marks of the Universe Ring being swung.
'This unfilial child of the world...'
This was not a simple matter.
It was an incident where a rising star of the Wudang Sect, and a disciple of the Wise Sword at that, had been murdered in the Tang Clan.
Moreover, since he had even been poisoned, for Wu Guang, who had come to investigate them, this was no different from pouring oil on a fire.
"Head of the Tang Clan!"
"Please speak."
"Do you not know anything about the monster who committed this act?"
Tang Yizheng maintained his composure as much as possible and shook his head.
Since the sorrow that was flowing from his heart about the current situation was real, it was difficult for Wu Guang to easily grasp his true feelings, looking at Tang Yizheng's expression.
"I will never just overlook this matter! I must find the culprit who committed this atrocious act and take revenge."
"The Tang Clan will also do its best to help find the culprit who dared to commit such an atrocious act."
Although he had said that he would help Wu Guang with his mouth, Tang Yizheng's head was about to explode with all sorts of thoughts on how to cover up this incident.
What was urgent now was to find the disappeared Nezha.
He had to find Nezha, avoiding Wu Guang's eyes, and to erase his traces completely and to hide Nezha.
"For the investigation, I will have to make this place a restricted area and to borrow manpower. If necessary, I will ask for support from the Martial Arts Alliance."
"...Please do so."
No matter how strong the poison was, its traces would fade over time.
Although Wu Guang was angry now, time was not on his side.
Tang Yizheng first put a rope around the mansion as he wanted and arranged for personnel for the investigation.
Since Wu Guang also did not completely trust the Tang Clan, it seemed that he was thinking of the Tang Clan's personnel as just guarding the scene or asking for advice on the poison.
"Master of the family."
"What is it?"
In a situation that was already noisy and chaotic, Tang Yizheng answered irritably when he heard a voice calling him.
"Guests have arrived."
"Guests? Now is not the time to receive people, so put up a sign of no visitors and tell them that a visit is not possible."
"That is..."
The head of the Tang Clan, looking at his subordinate's expression, suddenly recalled the words that Wu Guang had said when he had come to see him.
Xi Xichang of the Sichuan Alliance and the Twin Swords of Guankou are traveling together.
'Are those two really here to see me?'
Although he thought that Xi Xichang could, the appearance of Yang Jian was nothing but unexpected.
Moreover, to think that they had come in a situation like this was truly strange.
"The Twin Swords of Guankou of the Thunderclap Sect, Xi Xichang of the Sichuan Alliance, and a scholar named Jiang Ziya are asking to see you, master of the family."
Although it was a burden to turn away the Sichuan Alliance at the door, if it were really Yang Jian, he could not openly ignore him even more.
But among the names of the visitors, there was one that he had never heard of.
"Jiang Ziya? Who is that?"
"They say he is a companion... and that he would like to see you, master of the family, together."
"Show them into the guest room."
"Yes."
Just solving the matter of meeting Nezha was already a race against time.
Tang Yizheng, leaving behind Wu Guang, who was running wild, saying that he would find the culprit, hurriedly moved to meet the new headaches.
* * *
As soon as Tang Yizheng's order was given, Jiang Ziya's party, who had been guided, crossed the manor of the Tang Clan and was walking somewhere.
"What are you looking around so much for?"
Xi Xichang was bothered by Jiang Ziya, who was constantly looking around in the tense situation of meeting Tang Yizheng.
They had traveled to the Tang Clan with Jiang Ziya for a long time, and now the time to bear fruit was approaching.
"So from here to there is the house where the man called the head of the Tang Clan lives?"
Jiang Ziya was looking around the manor of the Sichuan Tang Clan as if he were dumbfounded.
"To be precise, it's not just the house of the head of the Tang Clan, but a manor where the Tang family lives."
Since Jiang Ziya had lived a poor life from a young age, he had had no opportunity to see such a huge manor even in the Hermit's Valley.
Since the study of the Jiang family, where he had stayed after coming to Master Gongsun's hometown, was also not of a very large scale, the scale of the Sichuan Tang Clan was a fresh shock to Jiang Ziya.
'Can this person really persuade the head of the Tang Clan?'
Xi Xichang looked at Jiang Ziya, who was looking around with wide eyes, with an untrusting gaze.
She had learned from the recent incidents that he was a master who was hiding his identity.
Moreover, since he was sworn brothers with the Twin Swords of Guankou, it was no different from having a great power in itself.
But there was something more important to Xi Xichang.
If Jiang Ziya were to not exert any influence on the head of the Tang Clan, contrary to his boast, she would have to have a one-on-one match with Tang Yizheng with her bare body in the end.
Now, Xibo, who was performing the duties of the sect leader in the Qingcheng Sect, desperately needed the help of the Sichuan Alliance through her.
Moreover, since Mo Guangdi was still in the Black Contemplation Fortress, and recalling the Sword Immortal, who had secretly gone into seclusion in a deep place of the Sichuan Alliance to heal his internal injuries, the Sichuan Alliance definitely needed the power of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
If Jiang Ziya were to help her solve this matter, she was also planning to do her best to help him meet the Sword Immortal as promised.
'What on earth is his identity?'
A scholar who was carrying a splendid fishing rod that did not match him at all on his shoulder, and a quiver on his waist, and was swaggering around...
If it were his original attire, it could not be worse than this, and if it were his intention to hide his identity, it could not be more perfect.
Moreover, looking at Jiang Ziya, who was looking around, it seemed that something that had been dormant in her memory was trying to come up.
Xi Xichang shook her head from side to side to shake off the distracting thoughts that were coming at an important moment.
"It's a pity that I couldn't show you the Thunderclap Sect, my younger brother. Although it's not of this level, it had an appearance that was not to be envied..."
A sense of complexity was mixed in Yang Jian's voice.
Since the Thunderclap Sect had been burned down in a surprise attack by the demonic cult, its past glory remained only in people's memories.
As Yang Jian's anger rose, he felt a pain in his chest.
He let out a steady breath and was wary of his internal injuries getting worse.
No matter how great a master Yang Jian was, he could not handle any more internal injuries.
In the past, Yang Jian had greatly helped the previous head of the Tang Clan, Tang Yizheng, and at that time, Tang Yizheng had promised to give Yang Jian one of the secret elixirs of the Tang Clan.
And now that he had arrived at the Tang Clan, he was planning to receive the divine elixir of the Tang Clan and to treat his internal injuries with its power and to take revenge.
"Since you are intact, my older brother, what's so difficult about rebuilding the Thunderclap Sect?"
At Jiang Ziya's words, Yang Jian nodded his head.
Although he had not yet heard from his family, disciples, and colleagues, if he were to regain his strength and to return to Hunan, the reconstruction of the Thunderclap Sect would surely not take long.
"But the atmosphere here is a little strange."
Although Jiang Ziya was at first overwhelmed by the huge scale of the Tang Clan's buildings, as time passed, he felt the gazes of the people, who were somewhat gloomy and wary of them, and he tilted his head.
"The Tang Clan has had almost no exchanges with the outside world, except for not putting up a sign of no visitors. Perhaps it's a reaction to the rare guests."
"For that, it feels somewhat chaotic... has something happened here by any chance?"
"I don't know."
The subordinate who was guiding the way flinched his shoulders for a moment and then silently moved his feet again.
Jiang Ziya tilted his head.
There was something that was strangely grating on his senses.
There was definitely something. The fact that the magic of the eight trigrams that he had engraved on his body was reacting, not his superhuman senses, was the proof.
Jiang Ziya's eight trigrams magic was a masterpiece that had been created by Master Gongsun and was a comprehensive collection of the strange magic of the Hermit's Valley.
Jiang Ziya had spread a detection net on his body using the eight trigrams magic, in order to track the people of the Non-Duality Gate who had left the Hermit's Valley.
'By any chance... is the Non-Duality Gate here?'
(End of Chapter)