A Stuttering Confession and a Hidden Truth

A burst of fervent cheers erupted all around, as villagers surged forward.

“Is that the demonic fiend who committed the murders?”

“They look truly terrifying.”

Everyone began discussing in a clamor of voices.

Luochen raised a hand, signaling for silence. “Everyone, this is the demonic cultivator responsible for harming our sect’s disciples. Peak Lord Shuang and I have already slain them.”

“However, the demonic energy still lingers around the cultivator’s corpse. I urge you all to return to your homes to rest and only venture out once we have finished handling everything.”

Upon hearing this, a trace of fear flickered across the villagers’ faces, and they promptly retreated into their houses.

Luochen gazed at Shuanghua, parting her lips as if to speak further.

Yet, her weakened body could no longer bear the strain; her vision swam, and she collapsed.

Shuanghua reached out and caught her in an embrace.

‘My apologies,’ Shuanghua thought.

Shuanghua felt a pang of self-reproach, realizing that due to her usual demeanor, Luochen had felt compelled to act despite her extreme weakness, even to the point of imminent collapse.

The senior disciple of Feibai Sect now lay peacefully asleep in her arms.

‘I must do something as well,’ she resolved.

Shaving off a piece of bark, Shuanghua used her sword to carve something upon its surface.

She summoned Wang Fei, who had been standing guard nearby, and handed him the bark.

“Follow these instructions,” she commanded.

Wang Fei looked down, his eyes scanning the characters etched with a frosty sharpness, resembling iron strokes and silver hooks.

The message contained roughly three points.

First, ensure the corpse is properly handled and brought back to Feibai Sect.

Second, assist the villagers in repairing their damaged homes.

Third, investigate the surroundings for any remaining suspicious individuals.

“Understood,” Wang Fei acknowledged.

Shuanghua nodded, then, cradling Luochen, she flew back to Feibai Sect at full speed.

****

Opening her bleary eyes, Luochen surveyed her surroundings with a hint of confusion.

‘This is… my room?’ she wondered.

“You’re a-a-awake,” a voice stammered.

‘That’s… Senior Aunt Shuanghua’s voice?’ she mused.

‘But why does she sound like she’s stuttering?’

‘She stuttered during the battle too. And now that I think about it, I seem to recall her stammering when I was poisoned as well.’

“Lu-Luochen, I’m so-so-so sorry.”

The Sword Immortal sat by the bedside, her lips parting and closing repeatedly, yet unable to form a few continuous, coherent syllables.

“Senior Aunt?” Luochen struggled, attempting to sit upright.

“No-no need.”

“Let… me… me finish speaking.”

Shuanghua gently pressed her back down, her face tinged with a blush.

Over the next hour, the stoic Sword Immortal of Feibai Sect began to haltingly explain everything.

At first, a single sentence would take her several minutes to utter, broken and disjointed, far slower than writing.

Yet, Shuanghua stubbornly persisted in voicing her explanation.

Luochen, not rushing her, simply lay still, her tranquil eyes fixed on the Peak Lord before her, conveying a subtle sense of encouragement.

Sensing the emotion conveyed in Luochen’s gaze, Shuanghua’s voice gradually grew more fluid.

“So, I’m re-really, truly sorry!”

As she finished her last sentence, Shuanghua’s cheeks burned crimson, almost appearing to bleed, and even her earlobes glowed a translucent red.

“So, you usually don’t speak just to prevent people from discovering your stutter?” Luochen asked, somewhat stunned, after carefully processing the situation.

Shuanghua nodded.

“And the ‘enemies’ who came to your door were actually just your family urging you to return home?”

“Mhm, mhm,” Shuanghua affirmed.

Luochen’s worldview shattered once more.

‘So, the supposedly stoic Sword Immortal was merely awkward with words?’

‘Isn’t this contrast a little too immense?’

Gathering her thoughts, Luochen pondered briefly before speaking.

“Well, I don’t feel there’s anything you need to apologize for.”

“However, if Senior Aunt needs help practicing her speech, I’d be absolutely honored to assist.”

She sat up straighter.

“But why couldn’t Senior Aunt have told me sooner? I’ve been so on edge this whole time, terrified of offending you.”

Luochen tilted her head, a hint of playful complaint in her expression.

“I’m so-so-sorry,” the Sword Immortal before her apologized clumsily.

“I’m just kidding,” Luochen said.

Luochen playfully stuck out her tongue, a joyful smile gracing her lips.

“It makes me really happy to know that Senior Aunt doesn’t actually dislike me.”

“Then, it’s settled.”

“I’ll be Senior Aunt’s conversation partner.”

Shuanghua nodded emphatically, a trace of uncontainable joy blooming on her face.

“Oh, right, has the matter with Green Ox Village been resolved?”

“Al-almost,” Shuanghua replied.

Shuanghua handed over the incident report written by Wang Fei.

Luochen skimmed through it; it seemed everything had concluded successfully.

‘But something feels… off?’

The sensation was fleeting, yet Luochen couldn’t pinpoint what exactly felt amiss.

Recalling the strange behavior of the Green Ox Village residents, her brows furrowed deeper.

****

Green Ox Village.

“The Feibai Sect people have all left?”

A Gou spoke in a low voice, a gravity beyond his years etched onto his face.

“Big Brother, they’re all gone,” Old Man Hu said, standing beside him with a dejected tone.

“Tell everyone to come out. Let us mourn our hero.”

“Mm,” Old Man Hu replied.

Old Man Hu lit a string of firecrackers, their thunderous crackling echoing throughout Green Ox Village.

Villagers emerged from their doorways, gathering in the square before A Gou’s house, their expressions solemn.

“Everyone, we couldn’t even preserve Third Elder’s remains,” he said, his voice laced with sorrow.

“Third Elder willingly sacrificed his life for our great cause. He is a hero of our Nether Ghost Cult.”

“Let us mourn him.”

In the square, some sighed, some sobbed, and some raged.

In this suffocating atmosphere, A Gou slowly began to speak.

“All we can do is endure, endure until we have extracted enough souls to use as leverage in our cooperation with the Spirit-Stealing Cult.”

“When we leave, these villagers we’ve manipulated can serve as a small ‘surprise’ for the Feibai Sect, utterly humiliating them.”

“We will have our revenge, for the Cult Master, for Third Elder.”

“For the Cult Master, for Third Elder!”

In the center of the square, emotions ran high.

After a brief address, A Gou dismissed the villagers, sending them back to their homes.

Only Old Man Hu remained by his side, an uncertain glimmer flickering in his eyes.

“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so eager to extract the souls of those two Feibai Sect sword cultivators then, perhaps everything would have turned out differently,” A Gou said, his voice muffled in the darkness.

“Big Brother, it’s not your fault,” Old Man Hu shook his head. “No one expected them to detect something amiss so quickly.”

****

Their thoughts drifted back to that fateful night.

“The extraction in Green Ox Village is complete. We have roughly three thousand souls remaining in our control.”

“If we take any more, it will surely be noticed.”

Had Luochen been present, she would undoubtedly have recognized the speaker as the one who attacked them—the ‘Third Brother’ A Gou had mentioned.

“Second Brother, Third Brother,” a somewhat portly man burst in, appearing anxious.

“What’s wrong?” Second Brother asked, puzzled, rarely seeing their Eldest Brother so agitated.

“Just now, while I was extracting souls, I was discovered by two brats from the Feibai Sect stationed nearby.”

“What?!” Second Brother exclaimed.

Only then did Second Brother notice two figures being dragged behind Eldest Brother.

“They tried to flee, but I extracted their souls as well.”

“Third Brother, what should we do?” Eldest Brother looked to the most composed Third Brother, hoping for his opinion.

“In my opinion, we should chop them up and feed them to the dogs,” Second Brother said, a fierce glint in his eyes.

“No, that won’t do. The Feibai Sect would launch a massive search for them, turning this place upside down.”

“If that happens, not only will we be unable to continue extracting souls, but maintaining our current scale will also become difficult,” Third Brother refuted the suggestion.

Eldest Brother’s eyes flickered, as if struck by a good idea. “Why don’t we risk possessing these two? With their identities as a cover, it would be even more convenient to act.”

“That’s right!” Second Brother’s eyes lit up.

“Still no good. Feibai Sect disciples all have their soul candles (TL Note: A spiritual item, often a candle, that represents a cultivator’s life force and extinguishes upon their death). Their soul candles have already extinguished; if they were to light up again, wouldn’t Feibai Sect immediately suspect someone had seized their bodies?”

“Are we left with no choice but to fight to the death?” Eldest Brother asked, a hint of unwillingness. He slammed his fist on the table, causing ripples to spread across the tea in his cup.

“There is one plan,” Third Brother finally spoke after a long deliberation.

“What plan?” the two eagerly pressed.

“Place their two corpses on the back mountain, and have the villagers we control ‘discover’ them. The matter will undoubtedly be reported to the Feibai Sect, and they are bound to send people to investigate.”

“Isn’t that actively exposing ourselves?” Second Brother asked, somewhat confused.

“Let Third Brother finish,” Eldest Brother interrupted Second Brother, signaling Third Brother to continue.

“Once the investigators arrive, have one person deliberately expose themselves to lure them in. The others will act as villagers, cooperating from within and without, to influence the judgment of the Feibai Sect’s people.”

“As long as that person takes all the blame, the rest of us can be preserved to continue our plan.”

“A true warrior cutting off their own arm (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to make a resolute and painful decision for the greater good, sacrificing a part to save the whole),” Eldest Brother sighed with emotion.

“Who will be that person?” Second Brother’s brows furrowed deeply; he had an ominous premonition.

Third Brother burst into laughter. “Who else could it be? Only I can!”

“You?” Eldest Brother exclaimed, alarmed. “You possess a seventh-turn cultivation; how can you go to your death?”

“I have absolutely no talent in spiritual souls; I can’t help you extract souls, nor can I possess and control these villagers.”

“Our future plans cannot proceed without anyone else, only I am expendable.”

“Moreover, if we aren’t willing to pay a heavy price, how will the Feibai Sect fall for our scheme?”

“But—” Second Brother tried to object further.

“My decision is made,” Third Brother declared, his voice carrying an unchallengeable resolve.

“It was Cult Master Ye who saved me back then, allowing me to be where I am today.”

“Even though I completely failed to meet the Nether Ghost Cult’s standards, she still took me in.”

“I’m doing this not just for you all, but for myself as well.”

“Ever since the Cult Master’s demise, I’ve thought of nothing but revenge. This turn of events, perhaps it’s fate. My time to repay my gratitude has come.”

He picked up the twin blades from the table, his expression solemn.

“Big Brother, Second Brother.”

“May we meet again in the next life, if fate allows.”

****

Pulling back from their scattered thoughts, both men’s expressions turned solemn.

“How much capacity do we have left?” A Gou asked, picking up a straw hat that seemed a bit too large for him and placing it on his head.

His entire head was almost completely obscured by the hat, giving him a somewhat comical appearance.

This straw hat was Third Brother’s last relic.

Old Man Hu withdrew his gaze, answering in a deep voice, “Two thousand five.”

“Once all the souls are collected, we will certainly send the Feibai Sect a grand gift,” A Gou said, taking off his straw hat, his eyes revealing undisguised venom.

Ah Gou took off his straw hat, his eyes filled with undisguised resentment and malice.