After that, the journey to Renwang Mountain was uneventful. For Bai Jinshu, it was his first return to the mountain in two years, and Jiang Cheng also hadn’t been back in a long time. Their arrival brought great excitement to the disciples of Renwang Sect.
Bai Jinshu first went to pay his respects to his Master, while Jiang Cheng spent time catching up with his senior brother, the sect leader. When Bai Jinshu introduced Ye Lihen to his Master, he could only give a simple introduction, stating Ye Lihen’s name. The Renwang Sect leader understood Bai Jinshu’s reserved introduction and didn’t press for details. After Bai Jinshu and Ye Lihen left Li Zhangmen’s room, as expected, but not to Bai Jinshu’s liking, his younger martial sister Lin Ling was waiting for him outside.
“Senior, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you privately.”
The look Lin Ling cast at Ye Lihen was a bit strange. Bai Jinshu wasn’t sure what his relationship with Ye Lihen was at this point or how it appeared to others. Earlier, when he introduced Ye Lihen to his Master as a friend he had made, Bai Jinshu felt deep down that the term didn’t quite capture their connection. His Master didn’t dwell on the details, and the matter was quickly brushed aside. However, the way Lin Ling looked at Ye Lihen now made Bai Jinshu feel as if there was something undeniably visible between them—something that everyone could see. And rather than making him uneasy, it strangely made him feel secure.
“Senior?”
Lin Ling’s voice pulled Bai Jinshu from his thoughts.
Although he had said some harsh words to her before, Bai Jinshu couldn’t refuse his junior sister’s simple request. He instinctively glanced at Ye Lihen—not to seek approval, but just a reflex—and when Ye Lihen pointed to a spot in the distance and said, “I’ll go wander over there on my own.” Bai Jinshu felt inexplicably relieved and at ease as he nodded to his junior sister.
Once Ye Lihen had walked away, Lin Ling led Bai Jinshu to a bamboo grove in the back of the mountain. Normally talkative, his little junior sister was uncharacteristically silent, keeping her head down. Bai Jinshu, unsure of her mood, didn’t know what to say, so he simply followed quietly.
When Lin Ling finally found a secluded spot and stopped, she lifted her head to look at Bai Jinshu with an expression of resolve. “Senior, you and Ye Lihen, are you…?”
The question was vague, its meaning unclear. To be honest, Bai Jinshu himself didn’t know the answer. But when he found himself nodding and replying with a simple “yes.” it felt so natural, as if it had been the right answer all along.
Even though she seemed to have expected this answer, Lin Ling’s expression still shifted several times before settling into one of uncertainty. After some hesitation, she met Bai Jinshu’s gaze with a mix of concern and urgency. “Senior, I know I shouldn’t speak ill of others, but I’m afraid you might not be seeing… seeing things as clearly as you should.”
Sensing the unspoken implications in Lin Ling’s words, Bai Jinshu frowned slightly and offered some reassurance. “Ling’er, if you have something to say, just say it.”
Encouraged by his words, Lin Ling hesitated for another moment before speaking. “Senior, I just feel it’s important to tell you what I’ve heard.” She took a deep breath and began her story. “A few days ago, I ran into one of my family’s guards, and he told me this… Near our home, outside Chang’an, there’s been a group of bandits causing trouble. Of course, those bandits aren’t good people—they’ve committed many crimes. But recently, their entire stronghold was wiped out in a single night. Dozens of people, including women and children, were killed, without anyone left alive. Apparently, someone saw the perpetrator…”
Bai Jinshu remained silent. He didn’t mention that his and Ye Lihen’s first encounter had involved those same bandits. He didn’t mention that Ye Lihen had said he was going to teach those bandits a lesson. Nor did he mention the thoughts that were now swirling in his mind.
Lin Ling pressed on with a heavy heart. “The witness said it was a boy, only about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in fine clothes, with features as beautiful as a woman’s, but with martial skills far beyond what anyone could imagine.”
Bai Jinshu listened to the description that confirmed his suspicions, but he still resisted drawing the conclusion.
“There’s no concrete evidence, Ling’er. Don’t overthink it.”
Lin Ling nodded slightly. “Senior, I don’t want to jump to conclusions either, but I thought you should know. Don’t worry, I won’t mention this to anyone else.”
“Thank you, Ling’er.”
“Senior…”
Once again, Lin Ling seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say.
Distracted, Bai Jinshu forced himself to ask, “Is there something else, Ling’er?”
“Senior, after last time… Have you been trying to avoid me?”
Bai Jinshu made an effort to smile. “Why would I avoid you? Am I supposed to be afraid of my clever and adorable little junior sister?”
At last, a smile appeared on Lin Ling’s usually cheerful face. “Senior, I won’t avoid you anymore, and you won’t avoid me either, right? You’re still my Senior, aren’t you?”
Bai Jinshu nodded firmly. “As long as Master doesn’t kick me out of the sect for being too mischievous, I’ll always be your Senior.”
Lin Ling relaxed and smiled. “Then it’s settled, Senior.”
“As long as you don’t disappear without a word again.”
A hint of blush colored Lin Ling’s cheeks as she playfully scolded, “Senior, you’re teasing me!”
“Alright, alright, that was my fault.”
“But Senior, you’ve always loved teasing people. Now that you’re back, our seventh junior brother and even our little martial nephews have been saying we need to guard against water, fire, and Senior.”
Bai Jinshu wasn’t in the mood to reminisce about the old days. His mind was entirely focused on finding Ye Lihen and confirming the doubts that had been gnawing at him like a shadow. Seeing that Lin Ling had said what she needed to, he gently tried to end the conversation. “Ling’er, we’ll be staying on the mountain for a while, right? We’ll have plenty of time to catch up with our fellow disciples later. Right now, I have something I need to take care of. Can we continue this another time?”
“Yes, I won’t keep you any longer, Senior.” Lin Ling wisely brought the conversation to a close, though she couldn’t help but cast a worried glance at him.
Trying to appear untroubled, Bai Jinshu excused himself from his junior sister and, with a heavy heart, made his way toward the southern slope of Renwang Mountain, where Ye Lihen had said he would be wandering alone.
When he reached the southern slope, Bai Jinshu couldn’t find Ye Lihen right away. However, he heard the sound of a sword being drawn in the direction of Liren Cliff.
Ye Lihen didn’t carry a weapon, but perhaps someone else might have drawn a sword on him. Although Bai Jinshu had faith in Ye Lihen’s martial skills, he still hurriedly used his qinggong to rush toward the cliff.
Renwang Mountain wasn’t known for its height, so Bai Jinshu arrived at Liren Cliff quickly.
But no matter how fast he was, it wasn’t fast enough.
By the time Bai Jinshu arrived, it was already too late.
He saw his fifth junior brother, Mo Feixiao, dueling with Ye Lihen at the edge of the cliff. Ye Lihen, using only a tree branch to fight against Mo Feixiao’s sword, narrowly dodged a strike. However, he had already been forced to the edge of the cliff, and as he stepped back, he lost his footing. As the loose stones beneath him crumbled, Ye Lihen couldn’t regain his balance and fell off the cliff.
“Xiao Li!”
Bai Jinshu cried out in shock, his heart nearly shattering with fear. He didn’t have time to think rationally, to consider how someone with Ye Lihen’s skill, likely stronger than Mo Feixiao, could have been forced off the cliff so easily.
On the other hand, Mo Feixiao was also startled when he saw Ye Lihen fall. Acting on instinct, he leaped forward and threw away his sword, grabbing Ye Lihen’s hand.
To Mo Feixiao’s surprise, the moment he grabbed Ye Lihen’s right hand, the latter skillfully slipped out of his grasp. With a quick twist, Ye Lihen gracefully landed behind him.
Before Bai Jinshu could process what had happened, he rushed over to Ye Lihen and pulled him forcefully away from the cliff’s edge.
Mo Feixiao stood frozen in place for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. “What a clever move! You really did it within three moves!”
Still shaken, Bai Jinshu didn’t understand this out-of-the-blue comment. “What do you mean, three moves?”
Mo Feixiao, clearly amused, explained, “Senior Brother, your friend here is truly crafty. He made a bet with me that he could disarm me within three moves using only a tree branch.”
Despite Ye Lihen’s impressive martial prowess and his unpredictable, fierce techniques, disarming Mo Feixiao within three moves was overly ambitious. As long as Mo Feixiao didn’t underestimate his opponent, he could surely hold out for at least three moves.
However, while Mo Feixiao hadn’t underestimated Ye Lihen’s skill, he had underestimated Ye Lihen’s tactics.
Bai Jinshu finally understood that Ye Lihen’s apparent near-fall from the cliff had been a deliberate ploy. This realization made him furrow his brow and glare at Ye Lihen. “Did you think about the consequences if you’d failed?”
Ye Lihen lowered his head in a display of obedience. “I was being too reckless and competitive. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Last time, when you intentionally took that sword strike to your back to deal with the assassin, you also admitted you were wrong. But do you truly believe you were wrong? What good is admitting your mistake if you don’t change? Will you ever stop?” Bai Jinshu scolded harshly.
Ye Lihen cautiously studied Bai Jinshu’s expression for a moment, then softly replied, “Don’t be angry. I didn’t know you’d be this upset. If I had known, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Ye Lihen was always true to his word, which calmed Bai Jinshu down somewhat. He finally noticed his fifth junior brother standing awkwardly nearby.
“By the way, Feixiao, were you bullying my friend? How did you end up making bets with Xiao Li?”
Mo Feixiao looked completely bewildered. “Senior Brother, be reasonable. Would I just randomly challenge someone to a bet about surviving three moves?”
After some thought, Bai Jinshu had to admit his junior brother had a point. He turned to Ye Lihen, who had clearly been the one to initiate the bet. “What did you bet on?”
“Fifty sparrows.”
“… What?”
Bai Jinshu couldn’t comprehend those simple words.
Ye Lihen patiently explained, “You wanted me to catch sparrows with you. I guessed you must like sparrows, so I asked Mo shao-xia to help catch some too.”
Bai Jinshu glanced sideways at the seemingly serious young man. Ye Lihen, noticing his gaze, thought for a moment, then responded with a calm smile.
Mo Feixiao cleared his throat. “Young Master Ye, a bet is a bet. Next time, I’ll be sure to win! Now, I’m off to catch those fifty sparrows for you. Senior Brother, I’ll see you later!”
As Bai Jinshu watched his fifth junior brother disappear far too quickly, the heavy thoughts that had been weighing on him returned. Just as he was struggling with how to broach the topic, Ye Lihen, noticing his troubled expression, spoke first. “Is there something you want to ask me?”
Bai Jinshu tried to approach the matter indirectly. “Do you remember the bandits who tried to rob you when we first met?”
“I remember.”
Avoiding the real question, Bai Jinshu focused on trivial details. “Why did you pretend to be defeated back then?”
“I wanted to see what the bandits would do when faced with someone they perceived as weak. If they showed mercy, I might have spared them. But if they used lethal force, then I wouldn’t have held back.”
Ye Lihen’s explanation was reasonable, but human lives weren’t something that could be dismissed with a logical argument.
“… So, did you kill everyone in that stronghold?” Bai Jinshu asked after a long pause.
Ye Lihen met his gaze steadily. “I didn’t kill them.”
Bai Jinshu wanted to believe him. Ye Lihen had never lied to him before, and he wanted to believe that this time was no different.
Observing Bai Jinshu’s expression, Ye Lihen hesitated before adding, “If you hadn’t intervened that day, I might have castrated those nine men and crippled their martial abilities, but that’s as far as I would have gone.”
Ye Lihen was a proud person. Even when he knew he was being suspected, he would never lower himself to explain. But now, he was speaking earnestly, which made Bai Jinshu all the more unsure of how to judge the situation.
Bai Jinshu had known Lin Ling since she was a child and could vouch that she was pure-hearted and not prone to deceit. Naturally, there was a possibility that someone had misled her. Lin Ling hadn’t fabricated the rumors, but perhaps someone had fabricated them for her. However, thinking logically, Ye Lihen had no control over any future events, and he had no enemies or ulterior motives. How could anyone have gone to such great lengths to frame him? What would they gain from it? Therefore, it seemed likely that the events Lin Ling described had indeed taken place. If Ye Lihen wasn’t the culprit, then there must have been another young man of similar appearance and skill who happened to be in the area at the time, and who had carried out the massacre. But even if there was another such person, what were the chances they would have appeared in Fengcheng at that exact moment?
Bai Jinshu wanted to believe Ye Lihen. He wanted to convince himself that Ye Lihen wasn’t capable of such cruelty. Yet, all the logic was telling him otherwise. During that time, even though Bai Jinshu had been almost inseparable from Ye Lihen, on the first night after their encounter with the bandits, Ye Lihen had acted alone. Having been provoked earlier, his emotions were high, and perhaps he had simply dealt with the bandits’ stronghold that night.
The reason Ye Lihen was now denying the deed in front of Bai Jinshu was likely because he didn’t want Bai Jinshu to be disappointed in him and was afraid to admit the truth.
Bai Jinshu silently watched Ye Lihen, who remained calm but with a trace of worry that only someone familiar with him could detect. Bai Jinshu couldn’t help but soften.
In the Martial World, people lived by the sword, beyond the reach of the law. Bandits committed evil deeds, and it was only natural that someone would eventually punish them—retribution for their crimes. While Ye Lihen’s methods were excessively ruthless, considering his young age, he might have been influenced by some bad examples. Deep down, Bai Jinshu didn’t believe Ye Lihen was truly malicious. With the right guidance, he could change. Bai Jinshu’s mind was slowly coming to terms with the idea that he and Ye Lihen would likely continue to stay by each other’s side. Thinking this way, he realized that Ye Lihen hadn’t done anything truly unforgivable—if anything, he had been righteously fighting evil. Deciding that he would do his best to keep a close eye on Ye Lihen from now on and guide his behavior, Bai Jinshu found himself unable to expose Ye Lihen’s lie.
“It’s good that it wasn’t you.” Bai Jinshu said quietly. “Bandits may be wicked, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to be wiped out entirely.”
Ye Lihen was intelligent. Bai Jinshu wasn’t a skilled liar, so Ye Lihen could undoubtedly see through his half-hearted response. But regardless, Ye Lihen simply nodded calmly. “As long as you believe me.”
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