"I don't know," said Xu Qiao. "Xie-shu is indebted to my father, there is no way he would retaliate by massacring our Xu Family. I was about to say, maybe, it could be someone else who killed our Xu Family, but I still remember how he wanted my death too. I really can't figure out the reason."
She took out a folding fan from under her shirt, the white steel fan that was said to be Zhang Zheliang's inheritance. Everyone's attention immediately turned to the fan, especially Huang Yu and Liuxin.
"This fan was sent to our Huofeng Lou three years ago by Huang Yu's father," said Xu Qiao, "anyone who killed my family was looking for this fan."
"Liao-xiong, among the Yumen descendants, you and Li Qian are the best at analyzing the situation," Huang Yu said to Liao Xian. "Can you help solve this puzzle? I'm sure everyone here now, each has some information, only they don't know whether it's a part of the puzzle or not."
"Rumor said that our Yumen leader, Jinshui's father, once gave a white steel fan to Liangtian Jian Shen," said Liao Xian, "secretly, Liangtian Jian Shen had kept an important secret from Yumen's headquarters into the white fan, which was then given to one of his disciples. It was said that this important secret attracted the attention of many people because it was related to whether or not our Yumen can be resurrected."
"Secrets related to Yumen's future resurrection," said Huang Yu. "I don't know what it has to do with the death of my parents, and the massacre of the Xu Family."
"Xie Tianhu had been staying in Huofeng Lou all this time, maybe he learned this secret from his master and told Xu Louzhu," Yin Xiuchen said, "but still doesn't answer the question of why he then killed his own friend."
"Laofeng once said, Liangtian Jian Shen did not die because he was killed by Wansui Gu's owner, but died because he was betrayed by his disciple," Jinshui suddenly said remembering Zeng Baifeng's words at the meeting on the mountain three years ago. "Laofeng was later known as the owner of Wansui Gu himself, and we are already acquainted with him, we know what he said is not a lie."
"Traitorous disciple," Huang Yu repeated, "is that Xie Tianhu the traitor disciple?"
"You cannot say my ershishu like that," Han Budian said, but he also looked at Yanzi. "Zhou Guniang I don't know if you've ever heard more about this."
"Yeye told me several times," said Yanzi, "Liangtian Jian Shen and yeye can't be said to be close friends, but at least they are some kind of drinking buddies."
Everyone looked at Yanzi. In the martial world, no one ever said that Liangtian Jian Shen and Wansui Gu's owner were good friends, although this was then a logical explanation for why after the fight with the previous Yumen leader, Liangtian Jian Shen went to the valley containing poisoners like Wansui Gu to ask for treatment.
"What?" Yanzi asked. "Yeye's bad reputation is all because of my father. Yeye himself never did anything, stupidly he also never denied it and just let my father create chaos and poison anyone at will."
Zeng Baifeng was indeed just an old man who hoped to live in peace in his valley, so long as he had allowed his second disciple to take control in Wansui Gu and act arbitrarily. Indeed, one's reputation in the martial world sometimes did not match the actual characteristics.
"That day it said that Wansui Gu's servant had told yeye that Liangtian Jian Shen and his disciples came," Yanzi said again, "it's just that they didn't have a chance to go inside to meet yeye, and then they just left. Only a while after, rumors emerged in the martial world that Liangtian Jian Shen had been killed by Wansui Gu's owner. I have no idea who spreaded that rumor. After that, yeye had become increasingly uncomfortable with meeting people, just staying in his place and collecting herbs."
Huang Yu took the white steel fan from Xu Qiao's hand and opened it. It was the same fan that Bao Xinfei had shown him three years ago at Huofeng Lou. He once wanted to take the fan to find out the secret in it and its relationship with the troubles his family was facing at that time, but at that time he did not want to risk revealing his own identity as the descendant of Yumen.
When he met Xu Qiao again, he had already guessed that the white fan was in Xu Qiao's possession, but he was patient and waited for the right moment to investigate. Until today, Xu Qiao herself had shown everyone.
"Erniang asked me to keep the fan long ago," Xu Qiao said. "She said, the fan could be the reason for our Xu Family's massacre. Three years ago, the Huang Family got into trouble after someone left the fan to Huang Zongbiaotou and asked him to hand it over to my father."
"This fan may hold a secret that is important to our Yumen," Jinshui said, "Qiao-er, you giving it to us is tantamount to supporting us in resurrecting the sect."
"The fan has been in my possession for three years, and as far as I can see it is just a regular folding fan," Xu Qiao said. "I can't find the secret, maybe only the descendant of Yumen can know it."
"Liuxin, your eyes never left the fan since earlier." Liao Xian said to Liuxin. "Do you know something?"
"I know," Huang Yu was the one to answer, "Xie Tianhu and Xun Tianyi chased Liuxin Meimei, injuring her in order to ask her to tell a secret. This fan is the thing left by their master, they must want it, also want the secret in it."
"Liuxin is a junzhu, has lived in the capital all this time and she has nothing to do with any affairs of the martial world," Yue Songdai defended Liuxin, "I believe she has nothing to do with my master's inheritance."
"Li Taiyi once brought an injured old man to Yi Wangfu in the capital and then Liuxin Meimei made a fuss by trying to take the old man out of his prison," Huang Yu recalled the words said by the eunuch Yuanxia. "Because of this commotion, Xie Tianhu and Xun Tianyi came to the capital, looked for the old man, and asked Liuxin Meimei to reveal a secret. All of this seems to be related, only I can't say for sure."
"Liuxin Meimei, I think you can now tell us the identity of the old man who was caged in your wangfu," Jinshui said.
"Hua Gege, I'm sorry, I swore not to tell," Liuxin replied.
"It's fine," said Huang Yu. "The identity of that old man will temporarily make no difference. We all know that Xie Tianhu and Xun Tianyi are traitorous disciples. Thirteen years ago Xie Tianhu betrayed his own master and killed his dashixiong somewhere around Wansui Gu, and put the blame on Feng Yeye. This fan should have been in Xie Tianhu's possession by then."
"But the secret of the fan can't just be seen, just like we here also only found a plain folding fan," added Jinshui. "Then I can guess that Xie Tianhu then went to Huofeng Lou, maybe trying to find the secret of this fan with Xu Louzhu, his good friend." He said according to what Yin Xiuchen had mentioned earlier.
"If my father found out that Xie-shu had betrayed his own master, there was no way he will allow him to stay at Huofeng Lou and solve the secrets of this white fan together," Xu Qiao said. "Besides, I know that Xie-shu was paralyzed at that time."
"Liuxin Meimei, come here now," Liao Xian called Liuxin, asking her to stay away from Yue Songdai for a while. Liuxin approached him slightly suspiciously, only she didn't expect Liao Xian to suddenly sneak to her left side and hit her back with an open palm. His movements were nimble and soundless. Liuxin reflexively lowered her body, turned once, and swept her feet towards Liao Xian.
Liao Xian purposely fell to the ground, and at that moment Liuxin had already slammed two hands against his feet. Liuxin's hands naturally didn't contain too much energy, and Liao Xian, already shielding himself with the energy his master gave him, was able to quickly get to his feet, still briefly hitting Liuxin's shoulder once before returning to his place as if nothing had happened. But his actions just now were not meaningless.
"Liuxin Meimei, your move just now seems to be one of Jianyin Bang's signature skills, named dongzhi da fa (winter eclipse technique)," Huang Yu said. "That move was a special technique, also a little cruel because it was able to severe someone's veins with just a few special techniques and not too much energy. Who'd taught you?"
"It wasn't dongzhi da fa, just a trick from wuqing xue," replied Liuxin. "If only I had the energy from Yumen guardians, just now I might have broken Liao Xian Gege's leg bones."
"Xie Tianhu betrayed his master, whether he wanted to kill with a single blow or just wanted to grab the fan, it was obvious that he will attack from behind his back," Liao Xian said, explaining his actions just now. "Even though Liangtian Jian Shen was seriously injured at the time after the battle with the Yumen leader, as an experienced martial figure, he couldn't just fall down without putting up a fight."
"Xie-shu was paralyzed from being hit by his master as an act of self-defense," Xu Qiao guessed. "He went to Huofeng Lou after that, knowing my father would definitely help cure him."
"Your father really helped him, finding the best healer and medicine so he could walk again, but it's impossible not to ask why Xie Tianhu lost his ability to walk in the first place," Jinshui said. "Your father eventually found out that Xie Tianhu had betrayed his own master, and this was the reason why Xie Tianhu killed your Xu Family."
"It's just that if he blatantly massacred the Xu Family just like that, it would be linked to him sooner or later," continued Huang Yu, "he knew he had to come up with a plan. The first was to take advantage of the rumor in the martial world three years ago that Yumen had its descendants, making it look as if we want Liangtian Jian Shen's white steel fan. That way he could wash his hands and easily put the blame on us."
Huang Yu had actually analyzed and estimated everything, only that he was missing a few connecting threads. The identity of the two mysterious men, their relationship with Xu Chenghai, and the white steel fan. Everything was there, he just needed to piece everything together.
"Xie Tianhu was the one to spread the news that we descendants wanted to seize Liangtian Jian Shen's white fan because it was related to Yumen's resurrection. He met my father and asked him to deliver this fan to Huofeng Lou's owner," Huang Yu guessed the person who left the fan to his father at that time, knowing Xie Tianhu and his father used to be good friends too. "My father will sooner or later find out how the fight for Liangtian Jian Shen's inheritance will relate to the person who left the fan to him. Xie Tianhu killed my parents to silence them."
"It all makes sense," Liao Xian said. "One's reasons to commit murder were none other than love, revenge, greed, or in this case, to cover up other crimes. And for the sake of perfecting everything, he also made it seem as if he himself was killed too, so no one would be able to solve this mystery."
"It's just that he didn't expect to have involved the Yumen descendants," said Yanzi. "You are chosen people, have high intelligence, and can analyze everything in detail. More unexpectedly, these Yumen descendants met and believed the words of the real owner of Wansui Gu, that Liangtian Jian Shen died because he was killed by his own disciple."
Huang Yu looked at her, then looked at Liuxin. He was about to say something, but he didn't say.
"It's enough for today," he said instead. "Liao-xiong, in a few days we will leave this place, and meet Li Qian and the others at Yongshi Bei, Wenhu District. All our brothers and sisters will gather. I hope you will be there too."
Liao Xian glanced at Han Budian and Yue Songdai, then at Yanzi as well as Xiu-er, not forgetting that they were outsiders, and shouldn't have heard that the eight Yumen descendants would all gather in one place.
"This Yue Xiongdi has already been conquered by our little Liuxin Meimei, Zhou Guniang also doesn't seem to be able to forget Lin Jixuan, Xiu-er owes Jinshui an apology." Huang Yu said. "Only Han Shaobangzhu, I don't really trust him, but I know he's looking for a chance to seize our jiaozhu furen, wouldn't have time to think about spreading our existence to the martial world."
--
The next day Liao Xian invited Jinshui, Huang Yu, and Liuxin without the others, to a training room which was a specially designed place for him. In the training room, there were various kinds of martial weapons, and the walls of the room were engraved with a number of writings. In the corner of the room, there was a shelf containing a number of scrolls of ancient manuscripts, and in another part of the room, there was a small cupboard with various kinds of porcelain bottles that were all neatly arranged.
Huang Yu read one of the lines of writing engraved on the wall and found that it was the theory of an ancient martial theory called yu xue miao shu (magical rain and snow) from Haitang Jian Pai. On the other side, there was also a line of theories of Lin Tongtian's signature beifeng qi, then there were also other theories that he had never seen. However, each theory was not written in full, but only one part, one piece, like the book of wuqing xue which has been divided into eight and each given to one of the descendants.
"The theory of yin shou yang zhang," Huang Yu found a line of theories engraved on the very end of the wall, he had only known less than half of what was engraved on it from his master Chailang. "It was said that this martial art was a skill perfected by Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang before his fight with our Yumen leader thirteen years ago. Even Chailang Shifu only knew two lines of this theory, Liao-xiong apparently managed to have five lines."
"You can recognize the two lines of the yin shou yang zhang theory is incredible," said Liao Xian. "Yin shou yang zhang had never been taught to anyone when refined by Liangtian Jian Shen, even his students had never witnessed the greatness of this manual, had never heard of the theory."
"Chailang Shifu heard about it from our late jiaozhu," replied Huang Yu, "I don't know how did Liao-xiong get this theory."
"Xiuchen's father, Bianfu Daren Yin Luohuang Qiuqiu (uncle, mother's brother) was one of the trusted bodyguards of our late leader," replied Liao Xian. "This theory was copied from our late leader's personal training room. No one knew that this was the yin shou yang zhang theory either, nor was I able to confirm until you mentioned it just now."
"Liao Gege, you collected so many martial theories from various sects and carved on the walls of this room, is there any particular reason?" Liuxin asked.
"Mojie chen (the devil formation)," Jinshui was the one to answer her question. "Liao-xiong collected these lines to study and crack the complexity of mojie chen."
"Mojie chen?" asked Liuxin. "What is that?"
"Mojie chen is a formation that can be used to deal with formidable opponents, created by the first generation Yumen leader," said Jinshui, "it's just that this formation is very complicated, not easy to learn and requires extraordinary knowledge of various other sects in the martial world in order to determine each step to deal with it."
"Chailang Shifu had excellent knowledge of various other sects," said Huang Yu, "he also taught me. However, I have no talent for constructing mojie chen, learning it is really more difficult than memorizing the theory of various manuals."
"I've been studying it since Baigu Shifu left me, although I haven't completely mastered it yet, but maybe it's enough for us the descendant to use against the enemy," said Liao Xian. "Huang Yu informed me that the killers of his parents, Xie Tianhu and Xun Tianyi, were two high-level martial artists, even Jinshui was injured badly every time he fought them. One Jinshui can't defeat them, maybe the four of us can use this mojie chen to overpower them."
"Liao Gege, I don't have the inner energy of Yumen guardian," Liuxin reminded him. "Don't know if I can keep up with the three of you."
"Liuxin Meimei, we will not look for them and fight for life and death, just learning a formation as our self-defense," Huang Yu said. "Later when all eight descendants have gathered then we will train this mojie chen to perfection."
In the next few days, Jinshui, Huang Yu and Liuxin spent a lot of time with Liao Xian practicing the formation together. Since Liao Xian had quite mastered how to control the mojie chen, his friends could easily adjust each position as well.
They had temporarily trained this formation in order to face Xie Tianhu and Xun Tianyi, or at least be able to defend themselves against the two greatest enemies. Jinshui had fought them twice, he knew what to do with his friends to defeat them.
--
It was only a few days later that everyone left Mangren Gong, saying goodbye to Liao Xian and Yin Xiuchen. The two owners of Mangren Gong said they would join them in the next meeting, and Huang Yu knew they would do so.
Outside the bat cave there was no sign of Zeng Baifeng's whereabouts, nor did Huang Zhe and Xun Qianniu or Xie Tianhu and Xun Tian Yu appear, it seemed that everyone had already left.
"Han Shaobangzhu, I believe you still have a lot of work to do at Jianyin Bang headquarters and need to return to Wuzhang City immediately," Jinshui said to Han Budian as he picked up the horse that was left outside Mangren Gong. "We Yumen descendants also still have a business related to the revival of our sect, and we don't plan to tell you everything."
"I was the one who asked Han Budian to come with me and leave Jianyin Bang's headquarters," Yue Songdai replied, "not only for the sake of finding the fugitive but also for bringing back Liuxin Junzhu. You may remember, Liuxin Junzhu was a guest at Jianyin Bang headquarters. That day she suddenly disappeared because your people kidnapped her trusted bodyguard. It's my responsibility to bring her back to Wuzhang before her price father acquire her to return to the capital."
"The fugitive is now with ershibo and wushishu, but the other day we didn't have time to catch him because we had to save Xu Guniang first," Han Budian continued. "Ershibo and wushishu were after Liuxin Junzhu and also Hua Jinshui, they will come on their own sooner or later. So to say, following you is the best way to find the fugitive."
"Yue Shaoxia intends to protect Liuxin, I don't mind him joining us," Jinshui said, "but Han Shaobangzhu has nothing to do, feel free to find the fugitive by other means."
"You're worried that I'll snatch Xu Guniang from you?" asked Han Budian. "If I could, I would have done it from the beginning. While you, the descendants, were busy training formations with the owner Mangren Gong, I had quite a few opportunities, but during that time never used them. Hua Jiaozhu doesn't have to worry."
"Qiao-er is my wife, no one can take her away from me," Jinshui said fiercely. Although he admired Han Budian as someone who was intelligent and also good at understanding the situation, but apparently, he was also jealous.
"Jinshui Gege," Xu Qiao spoke before Jinshui and Han Budian got into a fight. "It doesn't matter if Han Dage is coming with us. If you meet Huang Yu's brother, he can at least help you catch him."
"With his abilities?" scolded Jinshui.
"Yes. Although I'm not a Yumen descendant who possessed the inner energy of decades of training given by the guardian, but I'm still more than capable of catching a fake Yumen Mowang," said Han Budian back. "After all, I followed you for the sake of finding another Yumen descendant, obtaining everyone's identity, and secretly leaving a mark for my own people. When it's time for all of you to gather, then it's time to cut the grass down to its roots, eliminating the demonic sect to nothing."
"You don't have to bother looking for the descendants, I'll tell you our names loud and clear," Jinshui said. "I have also planned to reveal my identity, tell the whole world who the eight descendants are, and will openly resurrect Yumen Jiao."
"Hua Gege," Liuxin called. "Do you really plan to reveal the identity of us all?"
"Han Shaobangzhu may spread the word throughout the martial world that we descendants will gather at Yongshi Bei in Yiling District, Hubei Province on the fifteenth of the eighth month," Jinshui said confidently. "Whoever is not happy, let them come to face us all. The time has come, we will no longer hide our identities."
"Yes," added Huang Yu. "It's time. We will no longer stay in the darkness. It's time to announce to the world that Yumen Jiao already has a new leader."