In Loyalty Hall, the group of cultivators didn’t know what to say. Many of them lowered their heads and remained silent.

     Master Xuan Jing said, “Sigh… It’s all injustice.”

     The Tianyin Pavilion Master, Mu Yanli, said, “Every injustice has its perpetrator. Many things in this world are caused by karma and retribution.” She suddenly changed the topic. "But, Mo Ran, you have to know that suffering is not a reason for you to vent your hatred and disregard human life.”

     “Yes.”

     An elder of Huohuang Pavilion also sighed and said, “Mo-xianjun, you have suffered greatly, and it’s a pity, but it’s also because your background is poor and fate has played tricks on you. You can’t turn around and bully others just because you’ve been bullied.”

     “You have indeed done good deeds and been wronged. But according to what we know, you also killed people later on… This is a separate matter, and everything must be accounted for.”

     Mo Ran didn’t speak.

     Jiang Xi suddenly asked, “How would you calculate it?”

     “This…”

     “Who can measure whether he deserves to live? Who can be the fairest ruler?” Jiang Xi was stubborn and didn’t regard Tianyin Pavilion as a deity. “I don’t intend to be partial to Mo Ran, but I do want to ask one question. Today, we are standing here and saying that we will settle Mo Ran’s wrongs one by one and make him pay. Then—what about the humiliation Mo Ran has suffered? What about the injustice he has suffered?”

     “...” No one would have thought that Jiang Xi, who had suffered the most in the bloody murder a few days ago, would stand up for Mo Weiyu. Everyone was stunned for a moment.

     Mu Yanli said, “Sect Leader Jiang, Tianyin Pavilion has always been fair. My clan has guarded the divine measuring instrument for generations, and when the time comes, we’ll use the magical instrument to weigh Mo-gongzi’s merits and demerits, and then determine his punishment. You don’t have to worry.”

     “That’s strange. What relationship does he have with me? Why should I worry?”

     Jiang Xi had been dissatisfied with Tianyin Pavilion for a long time. He practiced medicine, so, to put it bluntly, as long as the medicine was refined well, the mortal body could live well in the mortal world. Therefore, Guyue’ye was the least superstitious about the descendants of the gods.

     He narrowed his almond-shaped eyes and said coldly, “However, I am very curious. I dare to ask everyone in Tianyin Pavilion—after Mo Ran’s interrogation, will you also interrogate the others involved in these old cases and see if Nangong Yan is still alive in this world? Shouldn’t you also go to Xiangtan and look for the rich merchant who raped Miss Xun back then? Mo Ran killed a man, so it’s only proper for him to pay with his life. But who will be held responsible for the fact that he was locked in a dog cage, beaten up, and left with no clothing to cover his body and no food to eat—or that his benefactor was disgraced by a guest, and his mother starved to death?”

     Master Xuan Jing asked hesitantly, “Sect Leader Jiang, why do you suddenly defend a sinner?”

     “It’s hard to say.” Jiang Xi opened his thin lips. “I’m just thinking about how we treated Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi when we were at Mount Huang. I am not willing to see the past repeat itself.”

     Someone said, “Those are two different situations—completely different.”

     “What’s the difference?” Jiang Xi said. “Now that Nangong Si is dead, and Ye Wangxi is still bedridden in Guyue’ye, things have changed. But back then, weren’t we the ones who forced them to say that Rufeng Sect’s blood debt was theirs to pay with their lives?”

     He suddenly turned around, his brown eyes like a hawk’s.

     “What about then? Where was Tianyin Pavilion? Where was justice?”

     The people of Bitan Manor had a deep grudge against Rufeng Sect because of the sword manual. Li Wuxin’s disciple, Zhen Congming, said, “Sect Leader Jiang’s words are biased. Nangong Si was the successor of Rufeng Sect; every injustice has its perpetrator, and there is always a debt to be paid. Unless all the people of Rufeng Sect are dead, the old debt will still be pursued. No one wants to lose.”

     Jiang Xi sneered, “That’s right. So, you see, don’t you understand this principle very well? No one wants to be the last person to be slapped in the face without being able to retaliate.”

     Zhen Congming: “...”

     “You think this way, Xu Shuanglin thinks this way, and Mo Ran can also think this way.” Jiang Xi waved his sleeves and said, “When things happen to others, it’s always easy to say these words. But when injustice and cruelty really befall you, you will only wonder why there are so many evil people in the world, but the only one who suffers is you.”

     Zhen Congming said, “Sect Leader Jiang, do you mean to say that our treatment of Ye Wangxi and Nangong Si was too cruel and unfair and that the matter of Bitan Manor’s sword manual should be dropped just like that?”

     Jiang Xi said, “Nangong Si is gone. Who else do you want to pursue the matter with?”

     Zhen Congming suddenly became very angry. “Then my Master died in vain?! Nangong Si is no longer here, but isn’t there still Ye Wangxi? She’s the commander of Rufeng Sect’s Dark City. Don’t tell me she doesn’t have any information about the sword manual’s whereabouts?”

     The crowd fell silent.

     Everyone knew that Jiang Xi had a cold temperament. Zhen Congming was no match for his name at all, but he actually confronted Jiang Xi in public like this.

     Jiang Xi stared at Zhen Congming for a moment and said, “Back then, on Mount Jiao, when Nangong Si fought with Nangong Changying and was seriously injured… he mouthed something to me.”

     “...What did he say?”

     Jiang Xi closed his eyes, and the scene of Nangong Si slowly saying those words under Nangong Changying’s sword in the barrier, flashed before his eyes.

     “I hope you can disperse the centuries-old treasures of Rufeng Sect, so the poor can be given wide relief, leaving no money behind.”

     “This…” All of the cultivators looked at each other, unable to maintain their composure. The monks of Wubei Temple even lowered their eyes, clasped their hands, and chanted the name of the Buddha in low voices.

     Zhen Congming’s face alternated between green and red. He finally gritted his teeth and said, “He doesn’t even have a corpse anymore, and the treasures of Rufeng Sect are all in the secret chamber. Who can open it? Isn’t he just speaking empty words and putting on an act?”

     Jiang Xi said, “Nangong Si didn’t expect that he wouldn’t even have a corpse left. Furthermore, I would rather believe that when one is about to die, their words are true.”

     Zhen Congming’s lips trembled as if he wanted to refute something, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

     After a long time, he said, “Is this why Sect Leader Jiang is protecting Mo Weiyu today? Do you want to ask for forgiveness, so you don’t repeat Nangong Si’s mistakes?”

     Jiang Xi said, “I just feel that seeking justice is an extremely difficult, or even impossible, task. I hope that you won’t praise yourself too highly when you criticize others and do not feel that you represent justice and the will of the heavens.”

     He glanced at Tianyin Pavilion, descendants of the deities. “Even if there is a public trial, it may not be completely right.”

     When he said this, Xue Zhengyong also spoke.

     Xue Zhengyong looked very tired, and he didn’t even know how to face Mo Ran. However, after pondering for a long time, he still sighed hoarsely and said, “Sect Leader Jiang is right. For so many years, the cultivation world has been in turmoil. There have been many troubles, and every sect has done foolish things to some extent. Who can make a judgement of absolute fairness and justice? In fact…”

     He sighed and closed his eyes.

     “In fact, does a disregard for human life mean killing someone personally? Back then, Rufeng Sect’s price adjustment order killed many innocent people without any blood on the blade. I, Xue Zhengyong, have stood in the mortal world for more than forty years, with little achievements. My actions are not for the sake of cultivating to become an immortal nor for my name to go down in history. I just want to lessen the suffering in this troubled world.”

     As he spoke, his eyes glazed over a little.

     The Sect Leader of Sisheng Peak, no matter how calm he was, still felt at a loss knowing that the child he had raised for many years wasn’t his own nephew.

     Xue Zhengyong murmured, “I just want the number of people suffering to be less—even one less.”

     At this time, Mu Yanli said coldly, “Sect Leader Xue has a kind heart, but have you ever thought that by being tolerant to sinners, you disrespect the innocent people who died in the disaster and the mortals who were implicated? Tianyin Pavilion doesn’t have much power, and it’s true that we don’t have the means to punish everyone for their mistakes one by one and bring everyone to justice. However, since Tianyin Pavilion has decided to take care of Mo Ran’s case, I will not rush to settle it. I hope Sect Leader understands.”

     Xue Zhengyong: “...”

     After Mu Yanli finished speaking, she turned to look at Mo Ran again.

     “Mo-gongzi, now that you have finished talking about all the sufferings of your life, you have won enough sympathy. Why don’t we talk about something else?”

     Mo Ran looked at her indifferently. “What does Pavilion Master want to talk about?”

     “Before, you said that you were not responsible for the case of the girl from the tofu shop being disgraced to death,” Mu Yanli said. “I believe you. But there is one other person whose death cannot be separated from you.”

     Mo Ran closed his eyes and said, “Pavilion Master has investigated thoroughly.”

     Mu Yanli said coldly, “Then tell me properly. Back then, how did you kill Mo Nian? That is, Sect Leader Xue’s real nephew?”

     Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by an angry voice.

     Xue Meng’s eyes were filled with tears and hatred. He gritted his teeth and shouted, “Shut up! Don’t say any more!”

     Mu Yanli glanced at him and commented, “...Running away from the truth is just a matter of escaping. It seems that the so-called darling of the heavens is nothing more than this.”

     The reply she got was Longcheng’s warning. The scimitar brushed past Mu Yanli’s cheek and stabbed into the pillar, wood splinters flying everywhere.

     Mu Yanli didn’t dodge. In fact, she didn’t even blink. Her beautiful eyes were as cold as frost and snow as she looked at Xue Meng.

     Xue Meng clenched his teeth, the muscles on his face spasming with hatred. “What real nephew? What dove occupying the magpie’s nest? Haven’t you said enough?”

     He abruptly pulled Longcheng back, his chest heaving.

     He no longer looked at Mo Ran or anyone else. He was like a trapped beast, driven mad to the brink of collapse.

     “Have you finished talking? Have you caused enough trouble? Are you enjoying the show?!”

     Madam Wang said, “Meng-er…”

     Xue Meng ignored his mother’s soft words. His eyes were red as he raised Longcheng in the air and looked around, seeming to laugh at himself with contempt. “Watching a great zongshi turn into a murderous demon, watching brothers at Sisheng Peak turn against each other, watching family members turn into enemies—do you feel happy?”

     His voice was as hoarse as a broken ocarina, and his last words quivered like feathers.

     “Did you really come here to seek justice? To seek the truth?” He paused and gritted his teeth. “Aren’t you here to cause trouble and seek revenge?!”

     Jiang Xi narrowed his eyes. “Xue-gongzi, you’ve lost your composure.”

     Xue Meng suddenly turned around. His eyes were like fiery lightning. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”

     “Meng-er!”

     Xue Zhengyong got up and grabbed Xue Meng’s shoulder, but when he touched him, he was stunned. Although Xue Meng howled angrily, his entire body was trembling slightly. Almost broken.

     “I don’t want to hear it.” With each word, his hatred grew deeper. “It’s all lies. Lies… A bunch of liars!”

     Xue Zhengyong wanted to coax him, but Xue Meng had already pushed through the crowd and left Loyalty Hall.

     He didn’t look at Mo Ran from beginning to end.

     In fact, Xue Meng already clearly knew who was lying and what the truth was. However, many things in this world were easy to understand but difficult to accept.

     Xue Meng’s life had gone smoothly for more than twenty years. Except for Chu Wanning’s death, he had never experienced any major disaster. It was because of this smooth life that he was still like a naïve child. This wasn’t a good thing. Although a pure child had a pure heart, they also had recklessness, ignorance, impulsiveness, and acrimony.

     Xue Zhengyong looked at the place where he left and stood there in a daze for a long time before slowly sitting down.

     He was no longer young, almost fifty years old. If one looked closely, one could see strands of white hair on his temples. He didn’t know if he could bear it and had to sit down.

     This way, he could at least calm down.

     Mu Yanli’s face seemed to be covered with a thin layer of ice, without any warmth. She only dealt with the matter as it was, so she said, “Mo Weiyu, about this matter, are you going to say it yourself, or should I call for a witness?”

     Mo Ran was very calm.

     He was as calm as a prisoner on death row.

     “There’s no need to trouble others,” Mo Ran said. “If there really are any relevant witnesses alive, I don’t want to see any of them.”

     He slowly raised his head.

     The faint sunlight shone on his pale face.

     “I’ll say it myself.”

     Mu Yanli raised her hand, and a person from Tianyin Pavilion immediately brought in a chair. She sat down and rested her hand on her chin as if she were going to listen to a long story. “Please.”

     Mo Ran closed his eyes. After a while, he finally spoke.

     “This matter was originally related to a businessman.”

     “What businessman?”

     “You should all know there is a business of investigators in the cultivation world.”

     Villa Master Ma Yun was most familiar with this. He raised his hand and said, “Yes, yes. Our villa is the most familiar with these people. They often wander around the streets and ask about old affairs, so they can make some profit.”

     Mo Ran said, “Yes. That’s why when Uncle went looking for his late brother’s surviving son, he also looked for an investigator.”

     Xue Zhengyong: “...”

     Of course, Xue Zhengyong remembered this matter. Mo Ran was found by the investigator’s clues. At that time, the House of Drunken Jade was in a sea of fire, and it was said that this child was the only one who survived. He could even clearly remember the investigator’s excited face, who couldn’t help but sigh—the heavens have blessed your brother’s son. He has survived a great catastrophe and will have good fortune in the future.

     “That year, the investigator accepted the assignment, and after several inquiries, he finally found a clue and went to the House of Drunken Jade to look for someone. He was looking for a woman surnamed Mo.”

     Someone asked curiously, “Who is that?”

     “She was the lover of Sect Leader Xue’s elder brother. People knew her as Miss Mo. She was once a concubine’s daughter from a wealthy family.”

     Someone reacted and said with surprise, “Miss Mo? Isn’t that the name of the madam from the House of Drunken Jade?”

     “But by what he said just now, she seems like an evil woman.”

     Mo Ran said indifferently, “She wasn’t born evil. According to my mother, Miss Mo’s experience was quite similar to hers. She was also a pitiful person. When she was young, she had a lover. He was a poor rogue cultivator. That rogue cultivator said that he was going to the lower cultivation world to found a famous sect, so Miss Mo gave him all of her money and jewelry, determined to help him realize his ambitions.”

     Xue Zhengyong murmured, “It’s my elder brother…”

     Mo Ran continued, “When that rogue cultivator left, he swore to Miss Mo that when he succeeded in his great undertaking, he would definitely marry her and bring her home in glory. For this reason, he also gave Miss Mo a poem—‘on the smoky wave river, in the painted boat, the fairy slowly plays a pipa, and the gentleman listens silently before leaving.’ This later became the evidence the investigator used to identify her.”

     This kind of thing between a man and a woman caught everyone’s attention.

     A female cultivator asked, “Could it be that the previous Sect Leader of Sisheng Peak did the same thing as Nangong Yan and abandoned his wife?”

     Xue Zhengyong’s leopard eyes widened, and he immediately scolded, “Nonsense! How can my brother be that kind of person?! My brother… he, he has never forgotten Miss Mo…”

     Speaking of his deceased brother, the man couldn’t help but feel sad, and his eyes turned slightly red.

     Xuanji Elder also said from the side, “Please be careful what you say, miss. The previous generation’s sect leader died in a fierce battle shortly after the establishment of the sect. He did not intentionally go back on his words. Before he passed away, he often talked about that woman with the sect leader. He always said that once the sect became more stable, he would immediately go bring her back. He and Nangong Yan are not the same at all.”

     “It’s true.” Mo Ran said softly, “In the end, she was much luckier than my mother. Her husband passed away, but there was still someone who wanted to bring her back; Nangong Yan was still alive, but he never dared to recognize me and my mother.”

     “Ha! Then I know! So it was because you were jealous that you decided to trade a raccoon for a crown prince, kill Madam Mo, burn down the House of Drunken Jade, and impersonate the child!”

     Hearing such malicious speculation, Mo Ran glanced at the “extremely smart” cultivator and said, “I never thought of impersonating him.”

     The cultivator wasn’t convinced and sneered, “Then what’s going on? Is there someone forcing you to be the Young Master of Sisheng Peak?”

     Is that how it happened?

     Mo Ran couldn’t help but think—In fact, there are many things in the world that weren’t like this in the beginning. Only one day, the butterfly started flapping its wings, causing the wind to blow and the clouds to surge as the vast sea turned into mulberry fields.

      Just like how he never thought of replacing Xue Zhengyong’s nephew at the beginning, and Miss Mo wasn’t that wicked madam of the music house in the distant past.

     She had been gentle and kind in her youth and had stood by the window, looking forward to her lover’s early return. When she found out that she was pregnant, she happily wrote a letter to her distant lover. She also received a letter from him, and the excitement of becoming a father overflowed the page.

     She had all of these beautiful years.

     So what if she was a concubine’s daughter? So what if they ridiculed her lover for being a nobody and mocked her for being pregnant before marriage? One day, he would fulfill his promise and welcome her and the child to his family of great splendor. She deeply believed that.

     But later, as time passed, the letters gradually changed from one letter every three days to one every seven days, and then from every seven days to every month. Finally, there was no news.

     Miss Mo’s heart was eventually dispirited. She had a wild temperament and had hidden this relationship from her parents. After giving birth to the child, she hesitated several times before carrying the child home. As a result, her father was furious, and his legal wife began to insult her in every possible way. Miss Mo left in a rage. After several twists and turns, the daughter of the rich family eventually became Madam of the House of Drunken Jade.

     Life was full of ups and downs—life was like a melting pot. You don’t know what to do going in, and when you come out again, you may be completely different.

     Mo Ran was like this, and Miss Mo was like this back then.

     By the time the investigator found her, fourteen years had already passed since her innocent boudoir days.

     The gentleman with Xue Zhengyong’s commission sat down and opened his fan leisurely, then said with a smile, “Where is your Madam? Ask her to come over.”

     The madam arrived, dressed in a peach blossom coat and a light yellow shawl wrapped around her arms. She swayed her waist and carried a pipe. She lifted the beaded curtain and said with a charming smile, “Oh, this young master has come to listen to a song so early in the morning? Do you like the zither, pipa, or yanqin? My musicians here are proficient in all kinds of musical instruments. I’ll open the door and make it cheaper for you.”

     This was life. Fourteen years ago, when her lover left, she had leaned against the beaded curtain with a sad expression on her beautiful face, watching him go away.

     Fourteen years later, her lover’s brother finally found her. The beaded curtain of time rolled up again across this vast life. When she brushed away the vermillion and emerald green, it was clear that she had already weathered many vicissitudes of life.

     The woman, who used to be as shy as a deer, was long dead. The person sitting in the House of Drunken Jade and calling all the shots was now a middle-aged woman smoking a pipe and winking brazenly…

     The investigator did not sigh with emotion; he only had money in his eyes. He waved his fan and said with a smile, “I don’t need to listen to music. I’m here to ask you about someone.”

     The smile on the madam’s face froze. Her tone became cold. “Ask about someone? Who?”

     The man said slowly, “On the smoky wave river, in the painted boat, the fairy slowly plays a pipa, and the gentleman listens silently before leaving.”

     Midway through his sentence, the madam’s expression changed. By the time he finished his sentence, her face was drained of color. Her lips trembled and her thin, sharp eyebrows twitched. She held her handkerchief to her chest for a long time before finally asking in a trembling voice, “You, you are… Who are you?”

     The investigator said with a smile, “If I’m not mistaken, then I’ve finally found someone for immortal Xue. Miss Mo, how have you been all these years?”

     Miss Mo swayed for a moment and lost her footing. She fell down on a round paulownia wood stool and gasped for breath, her face alternating between red and white. After a long time, she waved her hand to dismiss everyone, leaving only the investigator in the hall. She stared intently at the businessman’s face, her eyes filled with ecstasy, sadness, and a myriad of other emotions.

     The investigator’s expression was indifferent. He picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of lukewarm tea. He handed it to her and said, “Drink some tea first.”

     Miss Mo trembled as she held the cup. She took a sip, then another. When the tea was drained, she still sipped it a few times before raising her head.

     “Did Xue… Xue-lang ask you to come find me?”

     The investigator sighed and said, “To tell you the truth, the Xue-xianjun that Miss Mo has missed so much has long since passed away.”

     “What?!”

     “It was his younger brother who asked me to search for his elder brother’s soulmate. At that time, the two brothers had established their own sect in the lower cultivation world. They were no longer the wandering cultivators they once were. But Xue-xiansheng was busy building his sect and couldn’t leave for a while. Later, he had an accident while slaying demons, and unfortunately…”

     Before he could finish, Miss Mo covered her face and burst into tears. Only after being coaxed by the investigator for a long time did she finally stop sobbing.

     Then he continued, “Before Xue-xianjun passed away, he talked to his brother about Madam. His younger brother has been searching for Madam all these years, hoping to find you and bring you back.”

     Miss Mo muttered to herself in disbelief, not daring to be confident. She abruptly pulled on the investigator’s hand and said, “You… you repeat that poem again! I don’t believe it. I don’t believe he’s the one who died…”

     This was the most important part of his job, so he naturally knew it by heart. He immediately repeated it, “On the smoky wave river, in the painted boat, the fairy slowly plays a pipa, and the gentleman listens silently before leaving.”

     Miss Mo let out a cry in a low voice, tears filling her eyes. “He, he didn’t look for me all those years because… I thought… And I blamed him…”

     The investigator sighed. “It has already been many years; my condolences. By the way, does Madam have a son?”

     “Yes… yes, yes, yes!” Miss Mo sobbed, wiping away her tears. She then shouted towards the Nuan Pavilion upstairs, “A-Nian, A-Nian… Mo Nian! Quickly, quickly come down!”

     The door of Nuan Pavilion opened, but it wasn’t Mo Nian who came out but a frail child.

     The child was holding a pile of laundry in his hands. His small face peeked out from behind the clothes, and there were some bruises on his cheeks. He looked very timid.

     The investigator hesitated. “This is… your son?”

     “Ah, no, no.” Miss Mo wiped away her tears and said, “This is a servant who keeps the fire in my building.”

     The investigator immediately relaxed and smiled. “Oh, so that’s it.”

     Miss Mo turned to the child and asked, “Mo Ran, where did the young master go?”