Chapter 99
To establish the foundation of a sect takes hundreds of years, but its collapse is a matter of a moment.
After the peerless swordsman born of Qingcheng, the Ten Thousand Sword Master, went into seclusion, a dark cloud hung over the Qingcheng Sect.
Before it could even recover from the ordeal surrounding the Ten Thousand Sword Master's sword manual, the Qingcheng Sect had to suffer once again from the raging waves that swept through Sichuan.
The Sichuan Great War.
Mo Guangdi, Jeul, who had established the Black Contemplation Fortress, rose under the banner of the evil path under heaven and the conquest of Sichuan, and Sichuan was embroiled in a great war.
The sects of Sichuan united to block the Black Contemplation Fortress.
Even the Qingcheng Sect, whose power had weakened, chose a desperate resistance rather than a disgraceful sealing of its gates.
Although the decision of the sect leader, Xi Jili, was worthy of praise, from the perspective of the Qingcheng Sect, it could not be said that it was not the worst of the worst moves.
Sob... Sob.
A mournful sob was heard in the inner hall of the Qingcheng Sect, which had once enjoyed a brilliant glory.
In the bedroom of the sect leader, located in the center of the inner hall of the Qingcheng Sect, a sturdy man with a pale face was breathing with difficulty.
The bedroom was full of the smell of death, which could not be covered even by the strong smell of medicinal herbs.
The Qingcheng Sect Leader, Xi Jili.
Xi Jili, who had jumped into the battlefield with the Black Contemplation Fortress to re-establish the collapsing Qingcheng Sect, unfortunately suffered the misfortune of losing his eldest son under the blade of a vicious beast.
Moreover, since even he, who had been burning with a desire for revenge, had left the front line with a serious injury, he could not achieve his goal, and there was no way to escape the disgrace of having inflicted a great wound on his sect and his family.
"Sob..."
Xi Jili opened his eyes with difficulty and looked down at the girl who was crying under his bed.
The girl, who was holding the hand of her three-year-old younger brother, who only came up to her waist, and was holding back her tears, seemed to have a hard time enduring the repeated tragedies that had befallen her family.
"Xichang... come closer..."
Xi Jili called his daughter with all his remaining strength.
His young daughter had matured early after losing her mother. She had grown up bravely by the side of her father, who was devoted to the sect, without a single complaint.
But if he were to leave like this, who could guarantee what would happen to the children who would be left in the Xi family, as well as the Qingcheng Sect?
"Father."
"Don't cry. If you cry, won't Xibal be anxious?"
The young Xi Xibal, who had not yet grasped the situation, was already on the verge of tears at the unusual atmosphere around him.
At Xi Jili's words, Xi Xichang wiped away her tears, but it was a useless act as tears welled up in her eyes again.
The fine silk sleeve, from which she had wiped her tears so much, was already damp, showing the child's miserable heart.
The more he spoke, the more the blood on the bandage wrapped around his father's chest spread, and it even stained his outer clothes.
Xi Xichang did not know where to put her two eyes in her anxiety.
"Xichang, stop crying and to listen to me."
Xi Xichang bit her lip and nodded her head.
Although she was still young, she was a descendant of the sect leader.
The girl instinctively knew how important each and every word of her father was now.
"After I die, you must trust and to rely on Grand Master Liu Yezhi here and to firmly protect the seal of Qingcheng until you come of age."
"Don't... say that."
At Xi Jili, who was calmly speaking of his own death, teardrops the size of a fingernail began to fall from Xi Xichang's two eyes again.
Although Xi Jili's heart ached, his vision was gradually blurring and his breathing was becoming shallow, so he was running out of the energy to even speak.
"Xibal is young... and cannot take on the great task of a sect leader... now you must protect your younger brother and the Qingcheng Sect."
If he were to leave the world like this, for now, there would be no great trouble thanks to the goodwill of those with whom he had formed a relationship and the system that had been in place until now.
But as time gradually passed and the interest of the world faded, the Qingcheng Sect would be greatly shaken.
The remaining elders of Qingcheng would have different thoughts, and the disciples would leave Qingcheng.
Since the Qingcheng Sect, which had been protected since the time of his ancestors, was heading towards its destruction in his generation, Xi Jili had no face to see his ancestors.
He, looking at Xi Xichang, who was swallowing her tears, felt proud, pitiful, and sorry.
Although she had been born in a martial family, since she did not enjoy martial arts, she was a child whom he had hoped would marry into a prestigious family and to live a happy life as a woman.
Since he had passed on a heavy burden to her at a young age, when she should still be chasing flowers and butterflies and enjoying paintings and scenery, as a father, it was no different from having committed a sin that could not be washed away to his child.
Although it was the fate of a martial family, it was a reality that was difficult to endure.
Xi Xichang nodded her head and held Xi Jili's large hand tightly with both hands.
But Xi Jili's senses were gradually fading, so he could not feel that Xi Xichang was holding his hand.
He was only concentrating on leaving his last words with his last breath, one letter at a time.
"Grand Master Liu, please take good care of my young children."
"Yes, Sect Leader. This Liu Yezhi will protect the Sect Leader's last instructions as long as I am alive."
Since Liu Yezhi was a fair and just hero, his promise could be trusted.
Xi Jili let out a sigh of relief and placed his hand on Xi Xichang's head.
"Xichang... please take care of... Xibal... the Qingcheng Sect... you must protect it now."
"Father!"
Xi Xichang, feeling the warmth gradually disappearing from the warm hand that was placed on her head, let out a scream.
The masters of the Qingcheng Sect, who had been watching Xi Jili's last moments, also held their breath and sobbed, deeply mourning his last moments.
After suffering the ordeal of the sword manual in his father's time, and now that Xi Jili had lost his life to the rise of the Black Contemplation Fortress, it was a matter of great concern whether the misfortune of Qingcheng, which had been passed down for decades, would continue in the future.
"Waaah!"
Xi Xichang held Xi Jili's closed hand tightly and buried her face in it, wailing.
Her older brother, whom she had followed, had died, and now her father had also passed away, so it was a shock as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had collapsed.
"Waaah!"
Perhaps startled by Xi Xichang's sudden wail, Xi Xibal, who had been sobbing all along, also burst into tears.
Xi Xichang, at her younger brother's cry, came to her senses and hugged her young younger brother tightly with her face contorted from holding back her tears, and soothed him.
"Don't cry, Xibal, this older sister will protect you and the Qingcheng Sect."
Although it was a cracked and damp voice, Xi Xichang's voice showed a glimpse of her determination.
Crack!
Xi Xichang tore off her trinket and threw it on the floor, and also grabbed the pretty hairpin and pulled it out of her head.
Rip!
Tearing off the cloth that was stained with her father's blood in one go, she tied her hair with it.
Her appearance was so tragic that the people of the Qingcheng Sect in the arena, while being bewildered by the young girl's actions, could not think of restraining her.
Xi Xichang looked around with sharp eyes.
Only treacherous retainers and petty people.
Her older brother had lost his life in the great war with the Black Contemplation Fortress, and her father had also lost his life, but these people had returned to the Qingcheng Sect without a single scratch.
These people only thought of their own safety. They did not care about the Qingcheng Sect at all.
If these people had helped her father even a little, how could Xi Jili, who had a formidable military force, have been injured to the point of death alone?
Xi Xichang, who was closely watching the elders and the masters, whose eyes were flashing behind their sad expressions, saw their appearance as that of beasts.
A pack of wolves that would now look down on her and her younger brother, who were young, and would try to tear apart the Qingcheng Sect and to fill their own interests.
Xi Xichang gently stroked the head of Xibal, who was still crying.
Her father and older brother were no longer there.
No matter what happened, she had to protect the Qingcheng Sect and to hand it over to Xibal completely.
The life she had lived as a girl and the dream of meeting a husband were buried in a place like a bottomless pit in her heart, listening to her father's bloody last instructions.
Her hatred for the Black Contemplation Fortress, which had taken away her happiness and her dream, and for the hypocritical masters of the righteous path, was fiercely eating away at her heart.
As long as she was breathing.
No matter what criticism and disgrace she had to endure, she would live for the Qingcheng Sect.
And only for Xibal...
She would devote the rest of her life to preparing for her poor younger brother's life.
"What are you thinking so much about?"
Xi Xichang, who had been closing her two eyes, was startled and got up.
It seemed that her caution had been greatly relaxed after living in a comfortable chamber after a long journey.
"I was just thinking about the old days for a moment."
"You weren't dozing off, were you?"
Xi Xichang glared at Jiang Ziya at his joke.
After being tricked by Jiang Ziya's scheme and being caught in the night dew, and being entangled with Wu Guang and returning alone, she had suffered a great ordeal from Tang Yizheng.
Although she regretted that her outing in the middle of the night had more disadvantages than advantages due to the sullen voice of Tang Yizheng, who was not favorable to her, even if it weren't for Jiang Ziya, it was already spilled water.
Fortunately, since Wu Guang had asked her and Jiang Ziya for help, Tang Yizheng had reluctantly allowed the two's help.
Although several days had passed since then, the task of finding a clue about the vicious beast that had killed Wu Guang's disciple was far from over.
There was no trace at all, even though this much manpower and masters were tracking and investigating.
It seemed as if someone was intentionally erasing the traces.
"Are you going out to investigate?"
On the night when he had gotten entangled in the incident of the Tang Clan, Jiang Ziya, who had returned in a mess only after the morning sun had risen, was empty-handed.
Although his words that he had been greatly scolded for having set foot in the forbidden zone of the Tang Clan and had taken a long time were not very reliable, he had no reason to intentionally hide the vicious beast.
"Although Miss Xi, who is of a certain identity, is fine, since I am a person who is suspected by the Wudang Taoist, I am in a position to be suspected."
A Wudang Taoist was a word that referred to the Wise Sword, Wu Guang.
Jiang Ziya had been periodically going out to find the traces of the vicious beast since then.
Unlike his past appearance of boasting and showing amazing skills, this time, since his luck was not very good, he was not of much help in finding the culprit.
"By the way, what about your brother?"
"He's still circulating his energy."
"Huh... this is a big problem."
Yang Jian, the Twin Swords of Guankou, who had accompanied them to obtain the divine pill of the Tang Clan, had not achieved his intended goal.
After that, although the Tang Clan had helped Yang Jian's recuperation with famous medicinal herbs and elixirs, it did not seem to be of much help.
Thus, after that, Yang Jian had been staying indoors and had been concentrating on controlling his internal injuries.
"Since he is such a master, his internal injuries are not easily healed. If there is no progress, Senior Yang will also find another way soon."
Since Yang Jian could not stay here forever, it was clear that he would make some kind of decision.
"Hmm... I'm worried."
Jiang Ziya answered conventionally and was about to pack Tonglin and to leave the room. Xi Xichang also got up.
"What is it?"
"Let's go together."
As Xi Xichang was about to follow him, Jiang Ziya showed a look of difficulty.
"Didn't you dislike looking for it with me?"
"I just couldn't move because I was conscious of the head of the Tang Clan. Since I have decided to help the Wise Sword, I can't just sit here."
"Then wouldn't it be helpful to search separately?"
"Since you have investigated more parts than me, I might investigate the overlapping parts. And since two heads are better than one."
Jiang Ziya briefly rolled his head to get rid of Xi Xichang.
Since Jiang Ziya, who had been going back and forth to the forbidden zone where Nezha was staying on the pretext of an investigation, did not want his destination to be exposed to her.
But if he were to continue to refuse, there was a very high probability that he would arouse Xi Xichang's suspicion.
"Then..."
(End of Chapter)