Chapter 90: Betrayal from Within

Yue Buqun gave Yun Zhonghe a cold smile, a trace of smugness rising in his heart.

He had long known that Lin Pingzhi’s joining the Mount Hua Sect was suspicious, but for the sake of prying the whereabouts of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual from him, he had still taken the young man under his wing.

And all the while, he had kept him under secret surveillance.

He had also taken note of every letter exchanged between Lin Pingzhi and Yun Zhonghe, even copying them down for future use.

And now, at last, they had become useful.

The knot in Yue Buqun’s chest finally loosened. The whole situation was now entirely in his grasp.

If Yun Zhonghe insisted on making a move against him at this moment, it would only prove that the man had a guilty conscience and could never again stand in the martial world.

As for the position of chief leader of the seven sects, after all the twists and turns, it would ultimately return to Yue Buqun’s hands.

Three days ago, Yun Zhonghe had made him taste the misery of being caught between a tiger and a cliff; now it was time for Yun Zhonghe to taste it himself.

As the thought settled, Yue Buqun looked toward Yun Zhonghe. The latter was calm and unruffled, showing no sign of panic at all.

Quite the schemer, but how long can you possibly keep this up?

The more Yue Buqun thought about it, the more pleased he became. He was even beginning to imagine the scene of himself becoming the supreme master of the martial world, with ten thousand people kneeling at his feet.

And just as he was indulging in this grand dream of unifying the martial realm, Yun Zhonghe’s voice once again rose at the most inconvenient moment.

“It’s broad daylight. Some dreams are better left undreamed.”

“I admit that Lin Pingzhi was planted by me in Mount Hua. But if it weren’t for your tacit approval, I’m afraid he still would not have been able to become your disciple. Dare you say you had no selfish motive at all?”

“Since you admit to selfish intent, then I admit it too. I have my own selfish intent as well!”

Yue Buqun was even more magnanimous than Yun Zhonghe, and spoke words that voiced the very thoughts in everyone’s hearts.

“One manual of the Evil-Repelling Sword stirs up bloody winds throughout the martial world. As a man of the righteous path, Yue must naturally step forward to put an end to this turmoil and prevent the situation from continuing to worsen, lest even more innocent lives be needlessly lost!”

“What have I done wrong!”

“It is you, vile thief, who seeks to slander me by claiming I slaughtered an entire household for the sake of a sword manual, damaging the reputation of my Mount Hua Sect. Your heart deserves condemnation!”

After this fervent and impassioned speech, the crowd was swayed, and overwhelmingly believed Yue Buqun.

Truly, it was as though the people’s will had converged upon him.

“That Lin Pingzhi is no good. Master Yue kindly took him in and even taught him martial arts, yet he joined that villain Yun Zhonghe in slandering Yue Buqun!”

“Even worse is Yun Zhonghe, to think he could come up with such a despicable scheme!”

“Who knows what kind of bewitching poison that villain used on Elder Hong, to make him hand over the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms in full!”

“…”

The torrent of abuse was even fiercer than before. I’m afraid that whatever Yun Zhonghe says now, none of them will believe it.

Seeing that the tide was turning against him, Lin Pingzhi had already fled far away. He had not yet avenged his parents, and he could not die yet!

If Yun Zhonghe could not survive this ordeal, then he would seize the chance to break free from control.

After all, he had already memorized the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual by heart. So long as he could avenge his parents, what did it matter if he could never father children?

As for the poison from the Pao Tai Yi Jing Pills within his body, once he had cultivated divine power, there would be plenty of ways to ask a miracle healer to cure him.

At this moment, Yun Zhonghe stood upon the platform, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd, yet Lin Pingzhi’s figure had long since vanished.

Anger flared in his heart. After I finish with that hypocrite Yue Buqun, I’ll come back and deal with you properly!

Yun Zhonghe had long anticipated that Lin Pingzhi would not be of much use, and he had prepared other contingencies.

At his silent signal, the figure of Lao Denuo stepped out from the crowd.

Under the puzzled gazes of the Mount Hua disciples, he spoke in a low voice.

“What Yun Zhonghe said is no lie. I was one of those involved in the slaughter of the Lin family.”

As soon as these words fell, everyone present was shocked.

The crowd was now thoroughly bewildered and no longer knew whom they should believe.

Who was Lao Denuo? He was the second disciple of the Mount Hua Sect; his status and standing were by no means comparable to Lin Pingzhi’s.

His words still carried a certain credibility.

Yue Buqun’s eyes revealed shock, mixed with a trace of surprise.

He had already suspected that, even now, Yun Zhonghe remained steady as a mountain, and must surely have some other trump card in reserve.

Yue Buqun had considered all sorts of possibilities, but he had never imagined that, apart from his eldest disciple Linghu Chong, the very disciple he valued most, Lao Denuo, would actually betray him in public!

When had the two of them colluded?

No!

None of that mattered anymore.

In the present situation, Yue Buqun’s fury blazed to the heavens.

“Wicked disciple, what exactly has Yun Zhonghe promised you, that you would willingly betray your sect and utter such treasonous words!”

Yue Buqun’s cry stirred the Mount Hua disciples as well, and they all denounced Lao Denuo in righteous indignation.

Lao Denuo paid them no heed. Looking at Yue Buqun, he sneered inwardly.

“Not only did Yun Zhonghe promise to give me the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, he also promised to make me the supreme master of the martial world. And you are nothing but the stepping-stone beneath my feet!”

With a turn of his thoughts, he leapt onto the platform and stood beside Yun Zhonghe, saying with a cold smile, “Yue Buqun, stop pretending with that hypocritical face of yours. You are nothing but a complete and utter hypocrite!”

“On the surface, you took Lin Pingzhi as your disciple, treated him well in daily life, and taught him martial arts with care. But behind his back, you ordered others to isolate him, and did everything possible to bully and humiliate him!”

“Do you really think no one knows what you have done?”

Since he had agreed to work for Yun Zhonghe, Lao Denuo naturally had to show sufficient sincerity.

What he revealed was like tossing a bomb into a tranquil lake, sending up a thousand layers of waves.

Below the platform, the Mount Hua disciples looked at one another.

Everything Lao Denuo had said was true.

Among the disciples, there did seem to be an unspoken exclusion and isolation of Lin Pingzhi.

Though they did not know why, seeing the other disciples treat him that way, they had instinctively come to dislike him.

They had never realized that behind it all, there had been a large hand silently and deliberately pushing things along.

Thinking more carefully, fear rose from the depths of their hearts.

Yue Buqun’s fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles whitened, then slowly loosened. He had never imagined that the matter had been done so subtly, and yet Lao Denuo had still detected it.

One must know that even someone as clever as Linghu Chong had never detected the slightest hint of it.

The people below the platform wore varied expressions.

They could not help but recall that when the seven sects had first gathered here, the Mount Hua disciples had indeed seemed at odds with Lin Pingzhi.

At the time, they had thought it merely a matter of youthful pride among disciples.

After all, from Yue Buqun’s performance back then, it was clear that he greatly valued the newly admitted Lin Pingzhi.

This could be seen from the fact that Yue Buqun had personally taken Lin Pingzhi up Mount Song.

Now, combining that with Lao Denuo’s account and thinking it over again, the reason behind it was probably not so simple.

The most likely explanation was that Yue Buqun knew Lin Pingzhi was a spy planted in Mount Hua by Yun Zhonghe, and so he had to keep watch over every move the latter made without ceasing.

If that was the case, then all the earlier points of doubt could be reasonably explained.

At this moment, the wind gradually died away.

A chilling coldness crept over the entire arena.