Chapter 192: White Abandonment

Amidst the rocky ruins, Lin Duanyun struggled to his feet. His clothes were tattered, strips of fabric fluttering in the wind. A gruesome wound on his chest, flesh peeled back, vaguely revealing his internal organs, was a horrifying sight. His originally invulnerable golden body was now covered in fine cracks, caused by Gu Mo's palm strike. It was like the surface of a frozen lake suddenly cracking in the dead of winter.

At this moment, his hair was disheveled, his steps unsteady. Each step seemed to drain all his strength, making him sway precariously, yet he stubbornly stood, gritting his teeth, his eyes filled with defiance and determination.

Immediately, Zhuo Qingfeng asked again, "Sect Master Lin, will you continue to resist, or will you surrender?"

Lin Duanyun sighed and said, "Lord Zhuo, I understand your intentions. For you, my survival to face trial is far more valuable than a Lin Duanyun who dies here. I am willing to cooperate with you, but I only ask that you fulfill one wish of mine!"

Zhuo Qingfeng said, "Tell me."

Lin Duanyun said, "I wish that, whether I am torn apart by five horses or suffer a thousand cuts, after my death, my ashes can be scattered on Mount Huajian, to be with my father."

Zhuo Qingfeng nodded and said, "That request is not excessive; I can grant it. However, I have something I wish to ask. Is your father, He Changqing, truly dead?"

Lin Duanyun was slightly taken aback and said, "Lord Zhuo, what do you mean by that? Surely you aren't so bored as to use my father to humiliate and amuse yourself?"

Zhuo Qingfeng said, "Not at all. It's just that I always felt it would be too difficult for you to accomplish so much on your own. After all, you were only about six years old when you came to Qiongshan Sect. Could a six-year-old child's mind truly be so formidable?"

Lin Duanyun shook his head slightly and said, "Because I never actually practiced the Zombie Art before. I merely deeply ingrained its methods in my mind but held back from cultivating it until ten years ago, when I began to practice secretly. As for my childhood, as you said, a six-year-old child was a bit taciturn. Even if they had suspicions, what could they possibly suspect?"

Zhuo Qingfeng nodded slightly and asked again, "What about Ke Wenhui? What exactly happened? In Tuoling Town, Ke Wenhui was killed by Senior Gu. Senior Gu detected no trace of mental control over Ke Wenhui. Could it be that Ke Wenhui willingly became your scapegoat?"

Lin Duanyun was silent for a moment, then said, "Because... the Zombie Art is not about mental control, but mental guidance. Furthermore, practitioners of the Zombie Art, especially those of lower cultivation, naturally possess an inherent sense of submission towards those of higher cultivation.

Ke Wenhui was the scapegoat I chose. His background was perfect: he was an orphan who didn't know his biological father, had good talent, a considerable reputation and standing in the martial arts world, and was very easy to manipulate. So, I chose him.

After choosing him, I deliberately approached him using my identity, then guided him to investigate his own origins. From behind the scenes, I engineered his identity to be my doppelganger, leading him to obtain the Zombie Art. Cultivating the Zombie Art was essential. If he could resist the temptation not to cultivate it, I wouldn't have been able to control him. Once he practiced the Zombie Art, his mind would subconsciously submit to me.

Then, I guided him step by step, and he completely believed the identity I fabricated for him. With the suppression of the Zombie Art's bloodline consciousness, I then used mental secret arts on him, subtly influencing his decisions and unknowingly guiding his every action to align with my plan. He couldn't possibly discover he was being controlled, and he always maintained his independent thoughts.

Overall, I never actually controlled him; I merely guided him. That's why Senior Gu naturally detected no signs of mental control on him. Forcibly controlled proxies are not reliable, like Crying Daoist or Yin Jiuniang; once caught, there's a risk of exposure. But Ke Wenhui was different; everything he did was his own doing. I merely guided him in the shadows. Normally, it would have been impossible to trace it back to me. His death perfectly concealed my involvement.

However, because the Six Gates arrived too suddenly and the Dragon-Tiger Duo were unexpectedly exposed, I had to implement my plan prematurely. That's why I missed a step and was a moment too late to kill Master Jingkong. Otherwise, no one would ever have suspected me."

Zhuo Qingfeng fell silent. He was well aware of the true circumstances. Lin Duanyun believed he had lost by a single step, but in reality, he had merely lost to an unexpected event. If Gu Mo hadn't spontaneously given Yu Shijiu a sword, Yu Shijiu couldn't have saved Master Jingkong, and Lin Duanyun wouldn't have failed.

"Alas," Lin Duanyun sighed, saying, "I only regret one thing now: that I didn't directly kill that old man Bai Qiliao. If I hadn't been thinking of torturing him... alas, why is it like this now, that I failed to personally slay my greatest enemy, my father's killer!"

For a moment, everyone involuntarily looked towards Bai Qiliao, their eyes showing some sympathy. Anyone who imagined themselves in Bai Qiliao's shoes would feel profound despair. His beloved disciple, whom he had placed such high hopes on, to whom he had taught all his unique skills and entrusted his entire foundation, even marrying his daughter to him. Yet, this disciple had been acting all along, constantly plotting to torture him to death, and in the end, was only one step away from truly achieving it.

Supported by Master Jingkong, Bai Qiliao spoke in a faint voice, "I raised you not to console myself, because I have always had a clear conscience about killing your father. I raised you out of a promise; I taught you martial arts as a master's duty, as I should have; I made you sect master out of obligation to the sect – you are excellent, better than my other disciples, and the position of sect master should be yours; I married my daughter to you because I am a father, and I hoped my daughter would find a good husband, and that my most admired disciple would have a happy family and a virtuous wife. Lin Duanyun, I owe nothing to you, nor to your father."

Lin Duanyun chuckled, "How do you not owe? You indeed owe me nothing, but my father, how do you not owe him? He regarded you as his best friend, yet you brought people to kill him. Just because of jealousy, just because you couldn't surpass my father, you killed him. How can you claim you don't owe him? How can you feel no remorse?"

Bai Qiliao said, "Your father and I were indeed good friends, but the premise of our friendship was that we shared the same ideals and aspirations. However, when he began practicing the Zombie Art and harming innocent people, he betrayed his beliefs and abandoned justice. From that moment on, he was no longer my friend. I killed him, never out of jealousy—I never envied him. I killed him for the sake of righteousness. Do you know what he did? How many innocent people did he kill? How many families were ruined because of him? If I felt remorse for killing him, then how could I face the tormented souls he harmed, the wanderers whose homes he destroyed? Why should I owe him? A person who betrayed his beliefs and abandoned justice is no longer my friend; he has become a demon. I merely eliminated a demon. How could I be indebted? Why should I feel remorse?"

Lin Duanyun said in a deep voice, "But he was my father, and you are the one who killed him."

Bai Qiliao said, "I'm not saying you're wrong. From your perspective, no matter who He Changqing was, he was your father, and it's understandable that you seek revenge for him. I cannot stand on a moral high ground and condemn you. But do not condemn me either. You are not wrong, and neither am I. Those whose paths diverge do not conspire together!"

Lin Duanyun fell silent, and everyone in the cave remained quiet.

At this moment, Zhuo Qingfeng took the profound iron chains from one of his constables. The chains gleamed with a chilling light in the cave's torchlight. Lin Duanyun stood disheveled before the ruins. A profound silence enveloped the surroundings, broken only by the clanging of the chains.

"Pardon me," Zhuo Qingfeng said in a deep voice, inner energy surging in his wrist.

The profound iron chains whistled through the air, heading straight for the critical Jianjing acupoint on his shoulder. Lin Duanyun suddenly closed his eyes and lowered his head, allowing the icy iron to pierce his pipa bone. Frozen black blood beads trickled down the profound iron's grooves, staining the dust below. The Six Gates' unique method of sealing meridians and locking acupoints traveled along the chains. Nine sections of the chains sequentially embedded themselves into the Tianchi, Shanzhong, and Qihai acupoints. Zhuo Qingfeng secretly employed his Dragon-Capturing Force between his fingers; with each lock that settled, he felt a slight tremor in his palm. When the final profound iron lock fastened into Lin Duanyun's Dantian, he finally staggered half a step back, cold sweat mixed with blood soaking his collar. His internal energy was now like a confined dragon, unable to stir.

Lin Duanyun offered no resistance, and everything proceeded smoothly.

In a corner of the cave, Gu Mo's expression was calm, yet tinged with some doubt. Even now, He Changqing still hadn't appeared!

Soon, Lin Duanyun was fully bound. Several Six Gates constables escorted him towards the cave exit. By now, several torches had been lit inside the cave, making it very bright. Everyone began preparing to leave.

Zhuo Qingfeng walked over to Master Jingkong, who was currently carrying Bai Qiliao on his back.

Zhuo Qingfeng cupped his hands and asked Bai Qiliao, "Old Sect Master Bai, I'd like to ask, when you were besieging He Changqing all those years ago, before he was killed, he was struck down to the bottom of Duanjian Cliff. Only you, with your superior lightness skill, pursued him. During that time, did He Changqing ever leave your sight?"

"No," Bai Qiliao said, his voice barely a whisper. "At the time, I kept my eyes on He Changqing the entire time. You... are you suspecting that He Changqing isn't dead?"

Zhuo Qingfeng nodded. "I do have that suspicion."

Bai Qiliao said, "That's impossible. He Changqing definitely died back then; he was burned to ashes right before our eyes. Moreover, He Changqing cultivated the Zombie Art; even in death, his silver-armored body couldn't be faked. Although I was the only one who pursued him when he fell down Duanjian Cliff, everyone was present when the body was burned. It was a real silver-armored corpse!"

At this point, Master Jingkong and Yang Tingyun also chimed in. Master Jingkong said, "Lord Zhuo, there's nothing to doubt about that. He Changqing is definitely dead. Back then, only He Changqing was a silver-armored corpse—similar to Lin Duanyun today, a half-step golden body, almost fully perfected. There couldn't have been a second one. Of course, it's possible to fake, but I was the second person to chase him down Duanjian Cliff, right behind Old Sect Master Bai, with only a few breaths between us. He Changqing absolutely would not have had the time to fake his death and escape."

"Oh!" Zhuo Qingfeng nodded, "I see... So, since He Changqing is definitely dead, then the true mastermind is you, Bai Qiliao..."

To everyone's great astonishment, Zhuo Qingfeng suddenly thrust his sword at Bai Qiliao.