Chapter 103: A Summons for Questioning, A Divine Might’s Pressure

“I’ve known Li Jing for fourteen years,” Murong Chao said. “He may seem warm on the surface, but in reality, he’s incredibly cold-blooded. He doesn’t truly care for anyone but himself, not even his own parents.

For him to show so much concern for Little Gold today was, in itself, abnormal. The other disciples from the four great halls had a reason to be concerned; they have business with you, and Little Gold saves them a great deal of manpower. If he were to die, their own cultivation would be slowed. But Li Jing doesn’t employ your monkeys. He has no connection to them at all. So why should he care so much?”

He paused, then continued, “Let me tell you something else. Every generation, the Soaring Dragon royal family sends a prince to the Taichu Sect. Their goal is for that prince to succeed in cultivation and become the Sect Master, thus ensuring the nation’s long-term peace and prosperity.

In Li Jing’s generation, there were two candidates. The other was also exceptionally intelligent, but more importantly, he had no interest in the throne. Li Jing, on the other hand, had just failed in his own bid for power and saw cultivation as his only remaining path…”

“In the end,” Murong Chao said, his voice low, “Li Jing bribed a servant in the other prince’s household to replace his tonics with a slow-acting poison.

By the time the sect came to select disciples, the other prince was bedridden, and Li Jing was naturally chosen. Of course, if he had known then that he was a Purple Seed, he probably would have been more worried about being assassinated than assassinating others.”

Seeing that Xu Yu was still not entirely convinced, he sighed. Her heart was too kind; she would suffer for it one day. “His attack on Little Gold is likely related to the Qi-Circulating Powder,” he explained.

“In his mind, the only reason you could refine such a thing is because Qin Haoxuan is providing you with the resources. And the source of those resources is Little Gold. He can’t catch up to Zhang Kuang, but he can’t stand you being ahead of him either. Since he can’t move against you directly, he has to cut off your support system to slow you down.”

At last, understanding dawned on Xu Yu’s face. Thinking of the warm, effusive smile Li Jing always gave her, she now felt a wave of disgust.

“Then is there any way to get proof?” Qin Haoxuan asked calmly.

Murong Chao shook his head. “No. Even if you caught the person who administered the poison, and even if they confessed, Li Jing is an Unsurpassed Purple Seed. He would just deny it, and we would have no recourse.”

Qin Haoxuan fell silent. Murong Chao’s words had convinced him, but without proof, he didn’t want to wrongly accuse anyone.

Pu Hanzhong coughed. “You’ve already made enemies of Zhang Kuang and Zhang Yang. It would be reckless to make an open enemy of Li Jing as well. If you force him into an alliance with Zhang Kuang, your own path will become much harder.

It’s better to maintain a peaceful facade while remaining wary of him in secret. At least for now, he still has to pretend to be friendly with you and Xu Yu.”

His senior brother’s words brought Qin Haoxuan back to his senses. His experiences in the sect had taught him to be more circumspect. He knew that confronting Li Jing without proof would achieve nothing and would only invite open retaliation. But the most important thing was to verify the truth. If it really was him, this matter could not be allowed to rest.

“I think it’s best to act subtly,” Murong Chao advised. “If Little Gold survives, we should just drop the matter for now. Li Jing is a sinister and ruthless character, and he has the protection of his Purple Seed status. If you go after the poisoner, you’ll just tip him off, and he’ll come after you with even more insidious schemes.”

Qin Haoxuan’s eyes narrowed to slits, a cold light glinting within them. “My father taught me that a man should be modest but not servile; his heart should be soft, but his bones must be hard. I don’t care if he’s a Purple Seed. If it was him, this is not over. Whoever did this, I think I need to knock on the mountain and shake the tiger a little first.”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Little Gold. The swelling had gone down considerably, and the purple-black color of its skin had faded. The others followed his gaze and realized, to their amazement, that while they had been talking, the little monkey had miraculously turned a corner.

“Junior Brother Qin…” Pu Hanzhong began, about to try and dissuade him again.

But Qin Haoxuan cut him off, his voice firm. “Senior Brother, we cultivators fight against heaven for our fate. We shouldn’t fear heaven itself, so why should we fear a few scheming ghosts and goblins in the dark? Isn’t that a perversion of the very meaning of cultivation? I won’t confront Li Jing, because I have no proof. But I will find the one who administered the poison.”

Pu Hanzhong looked at him, startled, then a kind smile spread across his face. He clapped his junior brother on the shoulder. He knew this boy respected him deeply; he would not have interrupted him if he weren’t burning with a righteous fury. If his junior brother was determined, then as his senior brother, he would support him.

“Brother Haoxuan is right,” Xu Yu said, her voice filled with a resolute determination. “Whatever you decide, I’m on your side.”

“Alright,” Qin Haoxuan said. “Let’s start at the source. Tomorrow, we will find Liu Huan. The poisoning happened on his land.”

After everyone had left, Qin Haoxuan gently stroked Little Gold’s furry head. “Don’t worry, little guy,” he whispered. “I won’t let the one who hurt you get away with it.” It wasn’t until the middle of the night that the ruined pill finally finished absorbing the last of the poison. The monkey, though extremely weak, opened its eyes. They were a little moist. It looked at Qin Haoxuan, then closed its eyes and fell into a deep, healing sleep.

Qin Haoxuan picked up the pill that had saved its life and tried again to probe its secrets, pouring in even more of his Spiritual Sense than before. But the mist within remained, and he still could not achieve resonance. Just how high-grade is this pill? he wondered. He put it away carefully, then, seeing that Little Gold was sleeping peacefully, finally went to sleep himself.

The next morning, after his practice, he found Xu Yu, Luo Jinhua, and Pu Hanzhong already waiting for him. “Let’s go,” he said, and was about to head out when a disciple in a brown sect robe approached them. It was Liu Huan.

“I’d like an explanation,” Qin Haoxuan said, his gaze calm but as sharp as a blade.

Liu Huan was initially arrogant. I’m a Twentieth-Leaf cultivator, he thought. Even a Purple Seed has to call me Senior Brother. It was just a monkey that got poisoned. And it wasn’t my fault. Why should I be afraid? But he found he couldn’t meet Qin Haoxuan’s gaze. “An explanation?” he said with a sneer. “I was out on business yesterday. I wasn’t at the field. Is that explanation enough?”

“That’s your explanation?” Qin Haoxuan took a step forward. A cold, killing intent, mixed with a strange, unknown pressure, radiated from him. Under the force of it, Liu Huan instinctively took a step back. He was immediately mortified. Why did I just retreat from an Uncolored Seed? The others were also stunned. A Twentieth-Leaf expert, intimidated by a disciple who hadn’t even grown a leaf?

Even Qin Haoxuan didn’t know what had just happened. But when he had taken that step, the golden mist of his Spiritual Sense, sensing his rage, had automatically condensed and exerted a pressure that Liu Huan, whose own Spiritual Sense was weak, could not withstand.

“Don’t… don’t push me too far,” Liu Huan stammered, humiliated and enraged, as if he were about to attack.

(End of Chapter)