Chapter 449 - 424: The Truth of Fate Toying with Humans

Zhou Zhongqiu then told the Scholars about the Bibo Lake incident from ten years ago.

He told an abbreviated version, but the general course of events wasn’t much different from what Song Ciwan had known back then.

Some details were either wrong or missing, but it didn’t matter much. After all, just as Zhou Zhongqiu himself said, he was only telling a story. He hadn’t witnessed many of these events firsthand, so of course there would be some issues with the details, and everyone should just let it go.

Of course, no one minded. They just listened as Zhou Zhongqiu finally concluded, "Although Ao Yun’s True Spirit was revived and she took her revenge a thousand years later—and succeeded—... later, the Beichen Sword Immortal made a move. Everyone, think about it. Since Ao Yun failed to transform into a ghoul that time, is it possible for her to be resurrected again?"

The Scholars sighed. "That’s probably impossible. Still, it’s good that she succeeded in her revenge. Xiao Yan died by a thousand cuts, and the thousand-year feud was finally over. It’s a fitting cycle of karma, just deserts."

Another clapped his hands and said, "Satisfying! I never could stand that hypocrite Xiao Yan. A well-deserved death!"

Someone else asked Song Ciwan, "Brother Lu, what do you say? It’s just a shame that Immortal Venerable Mo can never wait for Princess Ao Yun again."

Song Ciwan gave a slight nod in response.

But her thoughts turned to another acquaintance from ten years ago: Mo the Crooked!

’Back when I was just starting my Cultivation, I ran into him on the street. We only interacted for a moment, but the Heaven and Earth Scale managed to collect "Eighty Percent Hermit’s Qi" from him!’

’For a long time after that, I’d actually forgotten Mo the Crooked even existed.’

’After all, that Hermit had only appeared on the streets of Su Yang for a short while, and I never saw him again.’

’I only knew that this Hermit had to be an incredible master. His Cultivation was so unfathomable that even now, I might not be able to gauge its depths.’

’Of course, it’s not like I had any particular reason to go probing into his background.’

’If I hadn’t been walking the streets today, connecting all these past events, I never would have remembered Mo the Crooked.’

’But now that I have, a guess is already forming in my mind: Mo the Crooked is very likely Mo Yinghuai, Immortal Venerable Mo!’

Xiao Yan hid at the bottom of Bibo Lake with Ao Yun’s Dragon Pearl and bloodline in his possession, so naturally, her True Spirit would follow.

If Mo Yinghuai was really Mo the Crooked, then he was probably living as a hermit in Su Yang for Ao Yun’s sake.

That would make perfect sense.

’No wonder a small place like Su Yang is full of hidden masters. To think I could run into someone with "Eighty Percent Hermit’s Qi" just walking down the street.’

’So there was a reason for everything!’

’Even after the Beichen Sword Immortal’s strike back then, the Dragon Maiden simply vanished—’

’At the time, I also wondered whether the Dragon Maiden was dead or not.’

’Thinking about it now, perhaps the Dragon Maiden was saved by Mo Yinghuai yet again?’

’It’s just that her state after being saved again was strange. In any case, the Dragon Maiden I saw at the Third Princess’s wedding banquet was very odd—not quite a ghoul, not quite a Human, and not quite a Dragon...’

’I couldn’t tell if she had recovered all her memories or not.’

’Did she and Mo Yinghuai recognize each other again?’

’I couldn’t figure that out either.’

In summary, there were still many questions, but the general outline of events had become clear.

As for some of the minor details—for example, was the Dragon Maiden Ao Yun’s name Ao Yun or Ming Zhu? Was the Bibo Lake Flood Dragon’s name Xiao Yan or Xiao Hong?

Back then at the bottom of the lake, Song Ciwan had heard the Dragon Maiden and the Flood Dragon’s conversation. One called the other Ming Zhu, and the other was called Xiao Hong. Song Ciwan wouldn’t forget these details.

But a person can have many names. Some are given names, some are courtesy names, some are nicknames, some are aliases, some are Daoist titles, and some are monastic names...

And so on and so forth. There were all sorts of possibilities, so it wasn’t worth getting hung up on.

Setting aside such trivial details, the Scholars were still sighing with emotion. "Fate really plays tricks on people, letting the despicable prosper for a thousand years while the loyal and devoted suffer all kinds of pain. When you get down to it, it’s because the Celestial Dao doesn’t tolerate love between Humans and demons, right?"

The "loyal and devoted" they mentioned was, without a doubt, referring mainly to Immortal Venerable Mo.

The Scholars all nodded. When all was said and done, the one who received the most sympathy was still Immortal Venerable Mo.

Someone else said, "Even after suffering so much injustice from fate and a thousand years of pain, and having to start his Cultivation over from rock bottom, Immortal Venerable Mo still kept the Human Race in his heart and put righteousness first. His assassination of Lu Wen this time is truly admirable!"

As they were talking, someone asked Song Ciwan, "Brother Lu, do you agree?"

Song Ciwan nodded, but then she suddenly asked Zhou Zhongqiu, "Brother Zhou, you said that a thousand years ago, when Immortal Venerable Mo and Princess Ao Yun were Traveling the Nine Provinces, they were hunted down after offending the son of a Demon Saint. May I ask which Demon Saint... this was?"

Zhou Zhongqiu’s eyelids suddenly twitched. He raised a hand to his forehead, looked up at the sky, and sighed. "It was... the Golden Crow Demon Saint."

The answer was so crucial it left everyone speechless.

So, did Immortal Venerable Mo assassinate Lu Wen for the great cause of the Human Race... or for personal revenge?

The Scholars couldn’t help but complain to Zhou Zhongqiu. "Brother Zhou, why didn’t you mention such a crucial detail earlier? We... we were just praising Immortal Venerable Mo to the high heavens..."

But Zhou Zhongqiu said, "Everyone, you see, this is precisely why I didn’t mention whose son the Demon Saint’s child was that Immortal Venerable Mo offended back then. In the end, Immortal Venerable Mo succeeded in assassinating Lu Wen. In the end, he boosted the morale of our Human Race and vented the frustrations of our Celestial Prides."

"As for whether the venerable man did it for a great cause or for personal revenge, does it really matter?"

"There’s no need to investigate such questions too clearly. Even the Saints say to judge actions, not intentions. Don’t you all agree?"

This reasoning was irrefutable.

The Scholars were stunned into silence for a moment, then began nodding one after another.

Song Ciwan also agreed with this, but she hadn’t suddenly asked about the Demon Saint to figure out Mo Yinghuai’s motive for assassinating Lu Wen.

She simply asked Zhou Zhongqiu further, "Brother Zhou, back then, the Kunshan Sect was at its zenith, and Immortal Venerable Mo was said to have the potential of a True Immortal. Is that right?"

Zhou Zhongqiu nodded again. As if he understood something, he looked at Song Ciwan and said, "Brother Lu, you mean to say, you suspect..."

Suspect what? He didn’t finish.

His expression was full of hesitation.

Song Ciwan said, "I’m just thinking, if something is too much of a coincidence, is it really a coincidence? Why was Ao Yun taken back by the Dragon Race after being injured just once? Why was Immortal Venerable Mo specifically confined for a hundred years?"

"Why did Ao Yun lose her memory? Why did her next Transformation take place not in the Dragon Palace, but on a coastline where mortals gather? Why..."

Before she could finish the last "why," a majestic voice suddenly drifted in on the Wind from the lakeshore. It was like a sharp, metallic wire, ringing in Zhou Zhongqiu’s ears and echoing in everyone else’s.

"Zhongqiu, you haven’t finished your studies for the day. Instead of working hard at the Academy, what are you doing idling by the lake?"