Chapter 89: The Slap to the Face Was No Ordinary One
When these words left her lips, all eyes turned to Yin the Heron in varying degrees of shock and suspicion.
Who here did not know that he had long coveted Miss Yue, always claiming that she was his bride-to-be?
But what manner of man was he? A notorious lecher and scoundrel of the martial world.
What parent in all the world would ever marry their daughter to a man like that?
And now, with a plan carefully laid to kill him, Master Yue had nearly succeeded, only to fail at the last moment.
Now their lives and fates were in Yin the Heron’s hands, and given his nature, he would surely make some shameless, vile demand.
If one truly fell into his grasp, one’s life would be ruined forever.
As the thought settled over them, a sigh of pity rose from the crowd.
If blame there was, it could only be laid at Master Yue’s own feet for being outmatched.
At that moment, seeing the woman lower her proud head to plead with Yin the Heron, as her father, his heart nearly split apart.
“Shan’er, don’t worry about your father. Take your mother and protect the foundation of Mount Hua. When your martial arts are sufficiently refined, avenge me!”
With that, he turned his gaze to Yin the Heron and declared with righteous indignation, “You shameless villain! Today I, Yue, have been defeated by your hand. If you mean to kill, then kill. Why waste words!”
Master Yue closed his eyes, looking every inch the man prepared to meet his death with valor.
Who would have thought that even now, he was still trying to preserve the name of his gentlemanly sword.
Clearly terrified to the bone, he still meant to dump every last bit of filth onto my head.
Yin the Heron sneered inwardly. Unfortunately for you, your calculations have gone badly astray.
With that thought, he drew his sword away from Master Yue’s throat.
As the chill from the blade slowly faded, Master Yue opened his eyes in confusion.
What was this man plotting? Just moments ago he had been all set to kill him, and now he would not?
Could Miss Shan’s words have moved him?
Yue Lingshan did not care what sordid thoughts lurked in his mind. Seeing this, she hurriedly helped her father up from the ground.
“Father, are you all right?”
Her voice interrupted Yue Buqun’s thoughts, and he slowly shook his head.
Now that he had calmed, the feeling of surviving disaster at last welled up from the depths of his heart.
Seeing this dramatic turn of events, someone below the platform could not help but say, “Never would have guessed it—Yin the Heron is actually a lovesick romantic!”
The others seemed to hear the funniest joke in the world, and the entire crowd erupted in thunderous laughter.
After confirming that her father was uninjured, Yue Lingshan’s slight frame moved to shield him firmly behind her, her eyes fixed on Yin the Heron with utmost vigilance.
At last, Ning Zhongze shook free of Xie Xun’s entanglement and leaped up onto the platform.
After the earlier reversal, Ning Zhongze had intended to join her senior brother in dealing with Yin the Heron, but to her surprise, Xie Xun, who had been sitting with eyes closed in rest, suddenly struck.
His purpose was to keep her occupied and buy Yin the Heron enough time to settle the feud between them.
That was how Yue Lingshan came to be bargaining with Yin the Heron to save Yue Buqun.
And now Ning Zhongze had finally broken free to face Yin the Heron directly.
“Lecherous brute, even if the whole of our family perishes by your hand today, the eradication of evil and the defense of the righteous way are the duty of those of the orthodox schools. Though death were ten thousand times repeated, I would never regret it!”
Ning Zhongze was indeed a heroine of her age; her courage and bearing were in no way inferior to a man’s.
Yin the Heron looked at the two women, a trace of mockery curling at the corner of his mouth. “Master Yue is a mighty man indeed—does he only know how to hide behind women?”
Yue Buqun forced down his injuries with a surge of inner energy, then stepped past the two of them and fixed his gaze on Yin the Heron.
“If you have anything to say, then say it. Today, either you die or I do!”
“Your words sound finer than a song, but don’t you want to carry Mount Hua to greater heights? Don’t you want to obtain the Evil-Preserving Sword Manual and master peerless divine skill?”
With every sentence Yin the Heron spoke, Yue Buqun’s face grew paler, and terror filled his eyes.
These were the thoughts buried deepest in his heart, thoughts he had never revealed to a single soul. How could Yin the Heron know?
“Wondering how I know these are the secrets you hid most deeply, secrets never spoken even to the one who shared your pillow?”
Seeing Yue Buqun’s stunned expression, Yin the Heron bluntly voiced the very thoughts running through his mind at that moment.
The crowd’s gaze flickered back and forth between Yin the Heron and Yue Buqun, and at last they were forced to admit that the former’s words were no falsehood.
The guilt on Yue Buqun’s face was impossible to conceal.
Could it be that the annihilation of the Fuwei Escort Bureau some time ago had something to do with Yue Buqun?
Almost at the same instant, this thought arose in everyone’s mind.
“You lie!” Yue Buqun reacted at last, forcing himself to remain calm as he shouted in anger.
Everything Yin the Heron had said was known only to him; there was no proof.
So long as he denied it to the end, even Yin the Heron could do nothing to him.
He believed that far more people in the martial world would trust him, Yue Buqun, over Yin the Heron.
“You vile wretch, you’re clearly trying to frame me and divert everyone’s attention so you can secure your place as the leader of the alliance of the seven factions!”
Yue Buqun analyzed the situation coolly.
The crowd’s faces lit up with sudden realization, nearly fooled by Yin the Heron’s deception.
Hearing Yue Buqun’s confident rebuttal, Yin the Heron was momentarily taken aback, not expecting his counterattack to be so sharp.
What he had said did, in fact, carry such intent.
He had not expected to be exposed by Yue Buqun so quickly.
Still, his expression did not change; only his gaze turned colder. “Since you want proof, I’ll give you proof and let you die without complaint!”
As the words fell, his gaze suddenly shifted and came to rest on a disciple of Mount Hua. In a stern voice he barked, “Lin Pingzhi, recount in detail what happened when your entire family was slain.”
Following Yin the Heron’s gaze, the crowd saw Lin Pingzhi step forward from among the disciples, calm and composed.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Yue Buqun. Hatred surged uncontrollably in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and said, “I will never forget that day. It was he who led several masked men in black to exterminate my parents and the rest of my family, all for the sake of seizing my Lin family’s Evil-Preserving Sword Manual!”
One stone stirred a thousand ripples.
The suspicion that had just begun to fade rose once more.
When the victim himself came forward to identify the murderer, the matter was most likely true.
“Never would I have thought that the dignified gentlemanly sword, Master Yue, the leader of Mount Hua, would slaughter an entire household for the Evil-Preserving Sword Manual!” someone exclaimed.
Yet before Lin Pingzhi’s accusation, Yue Buqun’s expression did not change in the slightest, and a faint trace of mockery rested at his lips.
“You two need not continue this farce. Lin Pingzhi was originally a spy you planted within my Mount Hua Sect. You admitted as much yourself, and everyone present at the inn that day can bear witness!”
As Yue Buqun’s voice rang out, the crowd fell into silence.
They felt the matter growing ever more complicated, and decided it would be best not to speak rashly.
Otherwise, the slap in the face would be more painful than words could describe.
Confronted with Yue Buqun’s sharp accusation, Yin the Heron offered no defense and admitted it outright.
After all, Lin Pingzhi’s entry into Mount Hua was indeed highly suspicious; Yue Buqun’s doubts and caution were perfectly normal.
His true killing blow still lay ahead.