“Anyway, where was I?” Wan Hezi waved his hand dismissively. “Right. I’ve been chasing Chao Long to investigate the whereabouts of the Red Pardon Pearl. The Dugu Family of the Eastern Seas has posted an extremely generous bounty for it. As you know, your senior apprentice brother here doesn’t have many talents, but when it comes to peeping…” He let out a low, wicked chuckle.
Yan Kai could only sigh in resignation.
“Senior Apprentice Brother… are you certain you really want to pursue Chao Long?”
“Of course!” Wan Hezi replied without hesitation. “I already accepted the Dugu Family’s reward offer.”
“WHAT!?” Yan Kai sprang to his feet, eyes wide in shock.
Even Duan Rongrong’s jaw dropped.
“Are you insane, Wan Hezi!?” Yan Kai hissed, unable to contain himself. “Do you even understand the consequences of accepting their offer?!”
“Er… what consequences?” Wan Hezi blinked, staring blankly at the two of them.
Yan Kai was so furious his chest felt ready to burst.
“If you fail to complete the task, your soul will be ripped from your body and used as fuel for the Dugu Family’s Evil Poison Soul Fire, to forge weapons!”
“AH!?” Wan Hezi finally realized the magnitude of his mistake. His face went pale.
Only now did he recall how delighted he had been at being the fastest to tear down the notice.
The reward listed by the Dugu Family had been outrageously lavish, far beyond anything he had ever seen. One glance had been enough for him to pounce on it without a second thought.
And now, in hindsight, he finally understood why the people around him had looked at him so strangely.
Only now did he finally understand.
“I’m finished…” Wan Hezi’s body went slack, a chill seeping into his limbs as all strength drained away. “I’m done for…”
“You…!” Yan Kai pointed at his senior apprentice brother, anger and disappointment mingling on his face, yet finding himself utterly at a loss for words.
“Junior Apprentice Brother… Rongrong…” Wan Hezi muttered dazedly, eyes unfocused. “I’m in deep trouble now… Senior Apprentice Brother has never even touched a woman in his entire life… Rongrong, how about you offer yourself just once…”
“I’m telling Sister Bingyuan!” Duan Rongrong shot to her feet without hesitation.
“DON’T! Don’t!!” Wan Hezi snapped back to his senses instantly. His face twisted with despair. “I was wrong, alright? Isn’t that enough? Forget it. I brought this on myself… I’ll go to the Dugu Family and see if there’s still any hope.”
“What now…?” Duan Rongrong didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry. She could tell Wan Hezi was forcing humor to mask his panic, but beneath it, he was clearly at a complete loss. She turned her gaze toward Yan Kai.
She trusted that Brother Yan Kai would not let her down.
Though Wan Hezi was usually shameless and unreliable, he had helped and saved them more than once.
Yan Kai let out a weary sigh.
“The only thing we can do now,” he said slowly, “is to first understand exactly what mission Senior Apprentice Brother has committed himself to.”
…………
The sedan descended slowly and came to a halt before the gates of Tea Sect.
With practiced respect, Ning San drew aside the veil. The little umbrella girl was the first to hop down, stepping neatly to one side as she hoisted her red umbrella and turned back to peer into the sedan.
Lu Sheng emerged unhurriedly. His gaze settled on Dong Qi, the Sect Master of Tea Sect, who stood waiting at the entrance, as well as the Winged Honor Guard Commander at her side.
“Dong Qi greets Sect Master Lu.”
“Li Qiong of the Winged Honor Guard greets the Sect Master!”
Both bowed in salute.
Lu Sheng gave a slight nod. He had met Dong Qi before. As for Li Qiong, he had once been a disciple of the sect who later enlisted in the Winged Honor Guard and had only recently risen to command. That promotion was not unrelated to Lu Sheng’s dominion over the Northern Lands.
At present, Crimson Whale Sect reigned supreme across the north of the Song Nation, its authority uncontested. Behind it stood the Shangyang Family, one of the Nine Great Families of the Central Plains. Shangyang Jiuli herself had stepped into the Manor Lord level and entered the Snake realm. With her talent, she stood well above the lower three grades of that realm.
As one of Shangyang Jiuli’s key pillars, Lu Sheng naturally commanded an exalted status. His name and influence swelled with each passing day.
“How’s the situation? Any word on the missing Elder?” Lu Sheng asked as he walked into Tea Sect’s headquarters.
“No… there’s still no news of Elder Xu,” Li Qiong replied in a lowered voice. “External Affairs Emissary Chen has been searching everywhere since receiving word of his disappearance, but to no avail. Sect Master should wait for his return and question him directly.”
Lu Sheng continued down the wooden corridor, his eyes drifting toward the small garden of artificial rock formations beside it.
Several children were running about the garden, their laughter echoing as they chased one another around the stones. Noticing Lu Sheng, they slowed and cast curious glances in his direction.
“Erm… they’re the younger generation of the Elders in the sect. They don’t know the customs… your subordinate will immediately—” Dong Qi broke into a cold sweat. She had clearly ordered that the area be cleared, yet these children remained, and might cross paths with Sect Master Lu Sheng at any moment. She knew his temperament all too well. Beneath that mild, gentle exterior lay a cold and merciless killer.
“Doesn’t matter.” Lu Sheng lifted a hand, entirely unconcerned.
“Such a tiny Tea Town… and yet it’s already my second time here.” His tone was placid, betraying neither pleasure nor displeasure.
“Yes. Previously, Sect Master came to deal with the stained-glass mirror incident… thinking back, time truly passed in the blink of an eye,” Dong Qi replied hastily, her voice reverent.
“It hasn’t been that long.” Lu Sheng smiled faintly. “Where’s Zhao Jiaojiao?”
Li Qiong answered at once, “External Head Zhao has also gone out to investigate and has yet to return.”
“Oh?” Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Even Zhao Jiaojiao has fallen here. One Elder, and one External Affairs Emissary. To think that two people from my Crimson Whale Sect would disappear here just like that…”
Dong Qi, Li Qiong, Ning San, Xu Chui, and the rest did not dare utter a single sound. Lu Sheng’s presence grew heavier by the second. Every word, every movement carried a suffocating pressure that made their hearts tighten unconsciously.
“News!”
A guard rushed in.
“External Affairs Emissary Chen has returned and seeks an audience with the Sect Master!”
“Bring him here,” Lu Sheng ordered.
Moments later, a pale, haggard, sickly white-haired old man hurried inside. He dropped to one knee before Lu Sheng, head lowered deeply. “Your subordinate Chen Zongtao greets the Sect Master! I beg the Sect Master to punish me!”
“Rise. What wrong have you committed? Tell me everything in detail,” Lu Sheng said calmly.
Chen Zongtao straightened himself and began his account.
“That day, your subordinate entered the deep mountains together with Elder Xu Chuanzhou to search for clues. Having heard that the Unlaughing Master appears only at night, we continued our investigation deep into the evening.”
“As we continued the search, your subordinate suddenly heard Elder Xu cry out for help and immediately rushed over. But when I reached the location where the voice came from, there was nothing there at all. Not only Elder Xu, but the entire team with him had vanished without leaving a trace.”
“You mean you neither saw nor know how Elder Xu disappeared? All you heard was a cry?” Lu Sheng asked, his tone even.
“Yes… that’s exactly what happened!” Chen Zongtao lowered his head in fear.
Lu Sheng did not speak. He simply looked at him.
That brief, silent gaze was enough to make cold sweat pour down Chen Zongtao’s back, soaking through his robes.
“BAM!!”
Without warning, a kick sent Chen Zongtao flying. His body smashed into a pillar, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out.
Everyone present shuddered. Even Xu Chui and Ning San’s eyelids twitched. Dong Qi shut her eyes, unable to watch.
“I’ll ask you one more time.” Lu Sheng stepped up before Chen Zongtao. “Did you truly only hear, but not see, Elder Xu?”
Chen Zongtao rolled across the ground before struggling back into a kneeling position, his mouth brimming with blood.
“Your subordinate… your subordinate…”
“ANSWER ME!!” Lu Sheng roared, his eyes flaring wide.
Chen Zongtao’s entire body trembled. At last, he broke.
“Your subordinate did see… did see Elder Xu!!” he sobbed. An old man well into his seventies was reduced to tears like a child.
“You saw Elder Xu when he cried for help, didn’t you?” Lu Sheng asked calmly.
“Yes… yes, I did… your subordinate saw him… but at that time, your subordinate was truly too frightened… that stone house…” Tears and mucus streamed down Chen Zongtao’s face. “So many of them were swallowed in a single gulp… not even their shadows were left!!” He crawled forward, clutching at Lu Sheng’s feet.
“Sect Master, it wasn’t that your subordinate feared for his own life… but that there was no chance of victory at all. Going to help would only have meant throwing my life away for nothing! I acted for the sake of my men!”
“Take him away. Deal with him according to sect law,” Lu Sheng said, his voice devoid of emotion.
Several guards moved at once. They seized Chen Zongtao by his left and right arms and dragged him away.
His body shook violently, yet he did not dare resist in the slightest. Limp as a heap of wet mud, he was hauled off by the two men.
No one spoke in his defense. Lu Sheng’s punishment was not because Chen Zongtao had failed to answer a cry for help, but because he had chosen to conceal the truth. This was a matter involving the life and death of a fellow sect member, yet he had lied to protect himself. By sect law, such an offense warranted the Twin Saber Punishment. Though it stopped short of execution, having twin sabers driven into one’s ribs was tantamount to losing half a life.
“Make sure he tells everything he should. After that, we’ll go and see for ourselves what exactly is hiding in these mountains that dares lay a hand on my Crimson Whale Sect’s men,” Lu Sheng said calmly.
“Yes, sir.” Xu Chui withdrew with measured steps, then turned and hurried after the guards escorting Chen Zongtao away.
“Now, let’s talk about that so-called legend spreading through Tea Town.” Lu Sheng shifted his gaze to Dong Qi.
“It’s the legend of the Unlaughing,” Dong Qi replied respectfully, her head lowered. “Recently, people from our Tea Sect have also been going missing in the dead of night. We’re not even in the deep mountains, yet they still vanish without a trace. Many disappeared right inside their own homes.”
“Legend has it that deep within the mountains stands a stone house. An Unlaughing Master dwells there. Someone once trespassed into his home by accident and disturbed his slumber, forcing him to leave the depths of the mountains.” Dong Qi spoke steadily. “After that, the Unlaughing Master entered the town. Anyone who encounters him must tell him a joke and make him laugh. Otherwise, he will continue roaming about, killing people.”
“Tell him a joke?” Lu Sheng paused, genuinely taken aback.
“That’s right.” Dong Qi nodded and went on. “According to the legend, once one meets the Unlaughing Master, they must come up with a joke within an extremely short span of time and make him laugh to pass the test. Failing that, they will not live to see the next dawn.”
Lu Sheng shook his head slightly and glanced to either side.
“Do you believe it? A legend like this?”
Ning San fell into earnest thought.
“Your subordinate believes there’s a strong possibility it’s true. Since such rules and stories about the Unlaughing Master exist, someone must have survived an encounter with him and lived to spread the tale.”
“That’s reasonable.” Lu Sheng nodded.
Those around him followed suit, nodding in quiet agreement.
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