Record of the Missing Sect Master Chapter 27

In which we finally (!!) find out what that third order was. Hype(?)!

Wenren Heng had previously discussed the goal of the person who placed the book with his Junior Brother.

His Junior Brother's original words had been that if he wasn't doing it out of boredom, then he was scheming against someone, and the person he was scheming against definitely was in this group of people. Even cutting the map into pieces was to lure the person cluelessly over.

What followed certainly lent evidence to this theory.

This whole way was one long and arduous journey of climbing mountains and crossing rivers, and the map was frustratingly opaque in its directions, inciting them to avoid the official roads and take the ones seldom traveled, obviously wanting to cause people to lose their bearings. Although at first they were still able to get people to draw routes for them, as they walked farther and farther, the number of people able to do so became smaller and smaller. With the surroundings filled with verdant mountains, as time passed, it became increasingly unclear where precisely they had wound up, and so the only thing they could do was to continue walking by following the map's guidelines.

And even then, it wasn't over. The person who placed the book had even made a underground tunnel at the end of it.

They had to make their way through it, and they weren't able to see the situation on the surface. And when they came out, a crowd of mountains surrounded them, so it became even more unclear where they were — and even that person being schemed against probably never expected that, after climbing a mountain, in the valley below, they'd meet Blood-sucking Ghost.

Rope after rope, and the trap tightened.

It was certainly like Junior Brother's handiwork.

But the question was, with Junior Brother's skill and ability, when taking revenge against someone, would the other really need to spend all this time to lay out this enormous chessboard?

He didn't understand.

However, Blood-sucking Ghost, the one actually pondering precisely these current ill-timed events, had finished listening to Manor Lord Wei's question and was now giving off a cold, short laugh. His sinister aura deepened as he said, “How can an insignificant little cliff claim my life?”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Then let's have you die one more time!”

After he spoke, he let out a low shout, hands clenching into fists, shooting out from his side. With his sleeves and back infused with his inborn energy, a faint layer flowing outward, his lofty manner was extremely powerful and unyielding.

Blood-sucking Ghost's line of sight converged. He wasn't a fool. Seeing their strength in numbers, he didn't hold his ground and quickly ducked into the woods. Neither urgently nor slowly, his voice drifted back, with a gloomy and cold undertone that couldn't be dispersed, “Everyone says that one needs only to put down one's blade in repentance so as to be absolved of crime. It's already been seven years since I've committed any wrongdoing, but all of you still want to murder me indiscriminately?”

“Stop talking nonsense! How could we let those children you killed die for nothing!” Although Manor Lord Wei was plump, his skills were agile, and he simply had to change his direction slightly before once again giving chase. At this time, only the clang of metal was heard, and a sharp sword light pierced the heavens. Pavilion Master Ding had also moved to pursue.

With these two great experts of Jianghu fighting together, everyone's morale received a boost. Added to that the bellyful of anger that they had previously swallowed down, with a loud clamor, they shouted to rush forward, wanting to chop this old ghost underneath their blades.

The Alliance Leader felt that, in only a blink of an eye, the entire crowd of people were crying out and hurling themselves forward, so much so that it was already too late to stop anything. Faced with such a dead end, the only thing he could do was remind them, “Be careful, don't fall for any ambushes!”

His voice was instantly drowned out by shouts calling for blood. Probably because he had been subjected to too many burdens, he had long already gotten used to these kinds of scenes where a single distasteful word would push the crowd to act. The only thing he could do was wrinkle his brows before hastily following after.

The only ones remaining were those whose martial arts weren't up to par or those who dealt with matters more prudently.

Wei Jiangyue wanted to go help his father, but before he went, he had a part of “Heaven's Firmament” remain behind. While being protected by them, Wei Jiangrou looked at Wenren Heng and couldn't help but go to his side.

Wenren Heng and the Wei family have had many years of good relations, so he naturally couldn't simply ignore her. He gave her a look and didn't say much of anything.

Wei Jiangrou was very steadfast and couldn't help but move a bit closer. At this time, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Ah-Xiao standing alongside. Biting her lips, she pushed down the emotions showing in her eyes before worrying about her father and second brother's safety, beginning to peer repeatedly at what's ahead.

Ever since being tricked, Academy Master Ge was naturally more cautious and didn't recklessly rush forward. While walking forward with them, he also mulled over this situation. Thinking that it was altogether too strange, he asked, “Sir Xiao, what do you think is going on here? Didn't the person who placed that book say he was going to wait for us here? Where is he?”

“Maybe some mishap happened midway,” was Ye You's analysis, “The words on the book were written eight, nine years ago, while Blood-sucking Ghost appeared seven years ago. When the person who placed the book made all these preparations, it's unlikely that he would've been able to guess that such a monster would appear in Jianghu. So when he wrote this location, perhaps even he couldn't have imagined that his nest would've been forcefully stolen by another.”

Academy Master Ge nodded. “Right, right. Then where is he?”

Ye You said, “We could capture Blood-sucking Ghost and ask. From his lips, maybe we can get some clues.”

On the side, there was someone who was worried enough to interrupt with, “If there really is a rare book, could Blood-sucking Ghost have already taken it?”

Some inwardly took a breath. “Then could that old fellow have already been killed by Blood-sucking Ghost?”

Ye You said, “This is also something we'll know only after catching that person.”

“Yes, yes,” the group agreed before immediately following with an additional line, not knowing if they're trying to comfort themselves or those around them, “Don't worry. Even if that old ghost had the book, he can't learn anything anyway, since he's like that. Tsk.”

“That's right. Since he's like that, he can't learn it.”

“Exactly right!”

Ye You asked, curious, “How can you say that?”

They were astonished. “Sir Xiao doesn't know?”

Ye You said, “Know what?”

Wenren Heng patiently dispelled the confusion for his Junior Brother. “Generally, there's very few people who can succeed in learning Pursued Until Scattered. And, from the records, those who succeeded were all pure of mind. Those who are clever, on the contrary, don't succeed.”

Ye You understood, internally thinking that it was difficult to say if there was a rare book or not.

But if the book was a pretense from the start, then having worked this into their schemes, the opposing party's intentions must have some significance… He narrowed his eyes slightly, somewhat hoping that his train of thought was correct, since it was much more interesting than a simple book.

The group followed the stone path into the forest, and their field of vision immediately expanded. They saw a large rock garden[1] complete with a pond, a large pavilion, and verdant mountains far afield, with towering vegetation dotting along their distant ranges in blue-green. This was precisely a villa deeply hidden in the depths of a large mountain!

Right now, Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding were standing in front of a section of the rock garden, and all traces of Blood-sucking Ghost seemed to have disappeared.

The two both weren't easily driven to impulse, so seeing as they were unable to capture the person in a short time, they didn't rashly give chase, and instead lead people here to stop for a while.

Academy Master Ge asked, “How was it?”

“He escaped into the rock garden. Maybe there's a secret path. Let's all be more careful.” Manor Lord Wei indicated for them to be more mindful of movements in their surroundings. He looked at the construct in front and decided to step foot in the villa to investigate, but some sect masters quickly brought up questions, fearing that that old ghost remained hidden in the rock garden.

Pavilion Master Ding said, “If we delay our efforts, that person might escape.”

During major events, the two Wei and Ding were very clear on their positions, and they seldom had moments where they argued. Manor Lord Wei followed up those words with, “Then why don't we do it this way. Let's split our soldiers in two. Old Ding, you lead people on ahead, while I'll lead people to search behind. If we don't find anything, then we'll directly go to look for all of you.”

At this, no one had any other objections, and they began splitting people.

And it was right when they were moving people that a mere slant of gray shadow was seen darting out from within the rock garden before it quickly pounced on “Heaven's Firmament”. Everyone startled, but before they could even get a good look, Manor Lord Wei had already shouted a, “Old ghost!”

“Hahahaha!” Blood-sucking Ghost's voice was extremely coarse, sounding like rocks upon a grindstone. Hearing him laugh like this made a person feel unwell from head to toe, trembling incessantly as if in frigid weather. He recognized the uniform of “Heaven's Firmament” and feverishly watched the Wei Jiangrou who was being protected within their circle. “Surnamed Wei, is this your precious daughter? The debt you owe me for pushing me off that cliff, why don't we have her pay it!”

The moment his voice dropped, he struck out with a palm.

At this, besides Manor Lord Wei, everyone else's expressions also changed.

Seven years ago, even with Manor Lord Wei leading a crowd of elite experts against this one man, it still ended up as a desperate struggle. Now, seven years later, this Blood-sucking Ghost's martial arts were undoubtedly even better than before, and not something that could be stopped by a few “Heaven's Firmament” soldiers!

As expected, in the next moment, when Blood-sucking Ghost's palm struck down, the “Heaven's Firmament” members were immediately sent flying.

Wei Jiangrou let out a shriek and threw herself at Wenren Heng. “Brother Heng, save me!”

Wenren Heng completely trusted in his Junior Brother's lightness skill, so that the moment he caught her, he stuffed her into his Junior Brother's hands. Wanting his Junior Brother to also leave the area, he succinctly said, “Take her and go.”

Just as Ye You received Wei Jiangrou, Wenren Heng was already facing off against Blood-sucking Ghost.

In the blink of an eye, with one jump backwards, Ye You was already a fair distance from them, and then without the slightest hesitation, he made straight for Manor Lord Wei and the others.

Blood-sucking Ghost saw through this plan and coldly snorted. He threw a careless palm strike at Wenren Heng before flashing over to bar the other's way, clearly intending to capture Wei Jiangrou so as to threaten Manor Lord Wei.

Ye You, with calm and composure, began a backwards retreat.

Blood-sucking Ghost had originally thought that it would be a small matter to catch up with him, only to discover that this little rascal's lightness skill was very high, and his expression turned sinister. He threw out a hand to suck, and a nearby female adventurer, unable to even resist with her martial arts, was sucked into his hands[2].

He clutched her neck. “Nobody move! Including you, little rascal!”

While all these unforeseen events had happened within the span of a few breaths, Manor Lord Wei, Pavilion Master Ding, and Wenren Heng had already caught up. Seeing the patient leave his side, the Young Miracle Doctor had also hastily run over. Those Demonic Sect Elders were also worried about their Sect Master's safety and so were doing their utmost to move as close to the other as possible.

Upon seeing this moment, all these people's footsteps came to a stop.

At this, in the blink of an eye, without even seeing if they were moving or not, Blood-sucking Ghost went ahead and broke the female adventurer's neck, kicking her body in the direction of Manor Lord Wei and the others, before rushing forward at Wei Jiangrou.

While everyone's expressions changed yet again, Manor Lord Wei was startled into fury, and dodging the body, he continued to give chase.

Blood-sucking Ghost had already completed his miraculous skill, and although his lightness skill was not as high as Ye You's, it was also only slightly inferior. Thus, by interrupting the other's martial art like this, he was able to shorten the distance between them very quickly.

Ye You once again leapt back. He quickly swept his eyes over his surroundings, checking to see where he can reunite with the others.

Blood-sucking Ghost said, “Little rascal, if you obediently hand her over, I'll spare your small life.”

Ye You laughed and said, “Senior, every wrong has a wrongdoer and every debt has a creditor[3], so isn't it inappropriate to take your revenge on such a young lady?”

Blood-sucking Ghost said, sinister, “If you still won't hand her over, every time I count, I'll kill someone.”

He was definitely able to do as he says, so those in the surroundings who had initially moved forward, intending to provide support, all hesitated. Seeing that, while speaking, he wanted to suck yet another person over, Ye You stopped in place, deciding to wait for the other to catch up before running again.

Wei Jiangrou was so frightened she began struggling. “What are you doing!”

“Don't move!” In this interval, Ye You saw Blood-sucking Ghost stop his hand movements to give chase, and so he hastily pressed her down, wanting to take her and dodge. But Wei Jiangrou was already scared out of her wits. Hearing these words, she thought that he wanted to give her to the other party and so she struggled even more ferociously.

In these few short breaths, Blood-sucking Ghost once again moved slightly closer. Seeing this distance, his eyes suddenly shone, and he spread out his fingers, extending a hand towards them.

Wei Jiangrou had seen for herself this move's ability and was afraid that she herself would end up in the same condition as that woman just now. Furthermore, without her father, her second brother, or Wenren Heng by her side, she felt a thick sense of unease when it was just her and Ah-Xiao. Her mind blanked, and without even thinking, she lowered her head and gave his hand a big bite.

Ye You was completely caught off guard and unconsciously loosened his hand.

Wei Jiangrou twisted her hands behind and pushed him towards Blood-sucking Ghost, shrieking as she dodged away.

With this one push, Ye You was coincidentally pushed right into Blood-sucking Ghost's skill. The only thing Ye You felt was an extremely strong force drawing him over, so boundless that it rendered people incapable of resisting.

Seeing the other escape, Blood-sucking Ghost furiously said, “You bastard!”

Having been sucked over, Ye You's first reaction was that he was finished. This old ghost was clearly extremely angry at him, and killing him on the way wouldn't even cost that much ability. His eyes tightened.

Wenren Heng had already caught up and was ten meters[4] away. Upon seeing this scene, he felt all the blood drain from his face.

Within the crowd of people, the Young Miracle Doctor's mouth was hanging open in vain. Those Elders also saw what happened, and their heads buzzed. Elder Mei immediately followed with staggering forward one step, pushing aside those in the front, and shooting out a piece of broken silver.

Water rapidly misted across her eyes, and she trembled from head to toe. Soon enough, someone collided into her so that she fell on the ground, but she was completely oblivious to her own well-being. In equal parts fear and despair, she lifted her head, and the remaining Elders all had similar expressions, with the same phrase flashing through their heads — if midway, you see that I'm in danger, or it reaches that place, then all of you think of a way…

They were all motionless, staring blankly at that piece of broken silver passing through the crowd, resolutely striking the Sect Master's death acupoint[5].

This was the third order — give his death acupoint a little hit.

If it wasn't for being forced into these circumstances, none of them would've dared to make a move.

Wenren Heng was very close and so saw everything extremely clearly, and his bloodless face turned even more deathly pale.

— That's the death acupoint! If hit, all skills will disperse and death is immediate!

Blood-sucking Ghost was also flabbergasted, not understanding who would scheme against this little rascal, though this small matter wouldn't impede his desire to kill. Looking at this person who had been sucked over, he made to clutch the other's neck.

This flash of time seemed to stretch on boundlessly, and everyone rigidly looked at them, even feeling as if they were hearing the crack of a bone breaking. Then in the next moment, the only thing they heard was the sound of a bang, and a person was flying away, smashing hard into the ground, with blood flowing out of all the orifices. In fact, this person was the one with miraculous martial skills, Blood-sucking Ghost.

Everyone opened their eyes wide in disbelief. They first looked at that old ghost, then at the Sir Xiao who had sent that person flying. Following that, the only thing they saw was a flash of that person's shadow, as Sir Xiao, as swiftly and unexpectedly as a thunderbolt, darted in front of Blood-sucking Ghost and, in one breath, pressed a countless number of his acupoints, thoroughly incapacitating him.

What's this situation? Just this and everything's under control?

Everyone openly stared once again.

Ye You waited until this was over to open his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood. Crumbling to the ground, he was caught in Wenren Heng's embrace.

Wenren Heng felt as if his Junior Brother's internal energy was flowing outward, out of control, as if the other couldn't retrieve it. He couldn't stop the trembling of his hands as he raised his Junior Brother's chin so the other can look at him. “Ah-Xiao! Ah-Xiao!”

Ye You coughed out a few more mouthfuls of blood. Grabbing the other's hand, he wanted to say a few things, but in the end, he wasn't able to say a single word. His head fell to the side, and as he closed his eyes, his overflowing internal energy also disappeared.

Wenren Heng had the frightening feeling that he was about to lose the other right at this moment, and he almost couldn't breathe. Grabbing the other's shoulder, he said, “Don't sleep!”

“Don't shake him!” Rolling and crawling, the Young Miracle Doctor also ran over, even falling once midway. He didn't bother checking his own body for any injuries before hastily taking Sir Xiao's pulse.

It was only then that Wenren Heng took notice that his Junior Brother was still breathing. Grabbing hold of this lifeline, he watched the Young Miracle Doctor with reddened eyes, not daring to speak.

The Young Miracle Doctor paled. “His internal energy is… empty.”

Wenren Heng's voice was stretched taut. “And then?”

The Young Miracle Doctor said, “What ‘and then', his internal energy is empty.”

Wenren Heng took a deep breath to steady his full-to-bursting nerves before hoarsely asking, “There's nothing else wrong with him?”

The Young Miracle Doctor said, “Nothing else.”

This was impossible! His death acupoint was hit, so how could he not die!

Blood-sucking Ghost opened both his eyes, but unfortunately, he wasn't able to speak a single word.

Wenren Heng felt the stone in his heart lift, and he carefully embraced his Junior Brother, carrying the other up.

Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding and the others moved forward only at this time. The former said, “Xiao Heng, he…”

Wenren Heng shook his head, with no desire to speak. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the fearful Wei Jiangrou nestled by the side of Wei Jiangyue. He gave her a cold and indifferent look before turning around and leaving.

Wei Jiangrou's heart trembled. In all their years of acquaintance, Wenren Heng had never before used such an expression to look at her. Never before.

She hastily moved to call him back, but her shoulder was restrained by someone. She lifted her head, and upon seeing the profound look in her second brother's eyes, she couldn't help but swallow down the words in her mouth.

After walking two steps, Wenren Heng suddenly stopped. He lifted the head of Blood-sucking Ghost who was lying on the ground and instructed his subordinates, “Tie him up and bring him over.”

The scarred man answered in the affirmative and brought people over to do so.

Manor Lord Wei hurried to say, “Xiao Heng, you can't kill him right now. We need to ask how he survived and why he's here.”

“I know. Weren't the elders first going inside the villa to look around? First, he…” Wenren Heng paused. He originally wanted to say “will remain behind for me to look after,” but when he remembered that this matter might have been planned by his Junior Brother, he wanted to walk through this entire chessboard at least once and so said instead, “will be escorted by me. Let's go.”

Manor Lord Wei saw that his mood was distinctly terrible, even his tone was unyielding, and so could think of nothing to say. He and Pavilion Master Ding set aside some people to guard Blood-sucking Ghost's surroundings before they set off together into the villa.

The ruckus just now had long startled the people here, and by the time they arrived, the place was deserted.

The villa was located within a large mountain, and a hidden path led outside the mountain. Those people had used this hidden path to escape.

Everyone carefully and meticulously searched the manor. In the basement, they discovered four or five small children, both boys and girls. Besides that, a certain bedroom had the corpse of a young girl, naked from head to toe, body black-and-blue, miserably lying on the bed, all her blood already sucked dry. There probably had not been time to take care of the body.

It had already been seven years since Blood-sucking Ghost fell from the cliff.

In these seven years, there was no telling how many young children silently fell prey to his vicious attacks.

Everyone's expressions turned very ugly. Before they could even curse, they heard someone say that they had discovered a dungeon and that locked within were three missing Jianghu adventurers, though all were already dead.

“They haven't been dead long.”

After Pavilion Master Ding examined them, this was his verdict.

The Alliance Leader said, “What exactly happened?”

Academy Master Ge said, “To silence them?”

The group wrinkled their brows.

It was really obvious that there were people other than Blood-sucking Ghost living in this villa, and it was very possible that it was them who saved Blood-sucking Ghost at the time. Moreover, because of certain plans, they even captured some famous adventurers. Now, everyone who needed to be silenced was silenced, and the only one left was Blood-sucking Ghost.

They couldn't help but look at the person who had been trussed up like a chicken.

Blood-sucking Ghost twisted his mouth and sneered at them.

Wenren Heng's pupils contracted. “Don't let him bite off his tongue!”

The scarred man had been continuously guarding Blood-sucking Ghost, and the moment he heard, he immediately grabbed the other's chin, but he was ultimately slow by a step. Because Blood-sucking Ghost wasn't biting his tongue but was, in fact, breaking apart the poison in his mouth, directly poisoning himself to death. Even if the Young Miracle Doctor once again ran over, rolling and crawling, it would still be impossible to revive that person, and the man quickly stopped breathing.

Everyone's hearts were shaken. Just a moment ago, his expression had been so arrogant. Such an uninhibited, unfettered martial arts expert, for the sake of the one backing him, would so willingly commit suicide?

Both Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding's expressions turned heavy. The latter hit the table with his sword and coldly said, “This matter must be thoroughly investigated!”

Wenren Heng closed his eyes and seriously pondered for a moment before calling for his subordinate, telling the other to bring people to search the study and the bedrooms immediately to see if any letters had been left behind. Then he didn't stay any longer, immediately getting up and leaving to go to his Junior Brother's side.

Right now, they also didn't have any better methods. Seeing that it was almost time to eat, the Alliance Leader and the others began arranging a series of business that'd come afterward. After Manor Lord Wei finished discussing it with them, he returned and saw his daughter. He immediately walked to a deserted place and said to his son, “Arrange for people to send her home. Do it now.”

Wei Jiangrou cried out, “Why? I won't go!”

“This time you must go.” Manor Lord Wei rarely showed her such a heavy face. “For the sake of saving you, Ah-Xiao almost lost his life, and now all his internal energy is gone. If you don't go, are you just going to wait for Wenren Heng to kill you?”

Wei Jiangrou's entire body trembled. “Brother Heng wouldn't do that. Don't blame me. It's Ah-Xiao. He's the one who wanted to throw me away to that monster.”

Wei Jiangyue coldly said, “If he wanted to throw you away, he would've done it long before then. I only saw you pushing him.”

Wei Jiangrou's face turned pale, and she ferociously shook her head. “No no no, I didn't do it on purpose, I…”

Manor Lord Wei didn't wait for her to finish and just directly hit her acupoint, causing her to faint, before handing her over to his son. He told the other to hurry and find people to send her home.

Wei Jiangyue said, “Over at Wenren Heng's side…”

Manor Lord Wei sighed. “First let's see about Ah-Xiao's condition.”

Wei Jiangyue pursed his lips, nodded, and left carrying his little sister.

The Demonic Sect Elders had been guarding Ye You's side all this time. Wenren Heng knew, so he was at ease when he left just now. When he returned and saw that they were secretly trying to run, he said, “Come in, I have some things to ask all of you.”

Who are you? You say come in, and we'll just come in? Careful or we'll beat you up!

Those Elders gave him a long stare before turning their heads and running away, faster than even a rabbit could run.

Wenren Heng, “…”

Wenren Heng suddenly remembered that during the last time this Junior Brother of his spat blood, upon waking, the other had stopped them from approaching. He now understood that, as before, these people were following their Sect Master's words, refusing to interact with him. He helplessly kneaded his forehead and sat down on the side of the bed, looking at his Junior Brother.

He unraveled Ye You's bandages, and while the face was pale, the other's breathing was steady.

Wenren Heng looked for a while. Holding the other's hand, in the end, he couldn't restrain himself and leaned over to place a kiss on the other's lips.

[1] 假山 lit. fake mountain. This term is usually used for those artificial rock mountains built around ponds in Chinese gardens. Of course, as is evident from the next few lines, these are some big artificial rock mountains. Any ideas of a better way to refer to them would be appreciated.

[2] 伸手一吸…女俠客[…]被他吸了過來 I literally did a double-take when I read this. Like, really…? I thought the whole “sucking” bit of “Blood-sucking Ghost” would be more vampire-like, but nope, he literally used his hands to “suck” the woman over. #That moment when you expected vampire shenanigans but got hand vacuuming powers instead#

[3] 冤有頭債有主 So this is actually a saying that I just translated directly since I didn't know to translate it succinctly enough to make it sound natural coming out of someone's mouth (especially when that someone is running away from a murderer lmao). Basically, it means that everything has a source, and if you have any grievances about something, you should go to the actual person who caused it, not (as in this case) innocent bystanders.

[4] 3丈 Actually no real rounding-up required. It's pretty exactly ten. What nice numbers.

[5] 死穴 A lethal area that causes death. I just translated it directly. Apparently a common thing in wuxias, but, uh, probably not a thing in real life!

F-fight scenes are so difficult. Can't we go back to climbing mountains and complaining about being trolled.

Well, that was unexpected. First bit of this was admittedly a bit of a slog (which is why this took so long), but the last parts had me on the edge of my seat! And since I'm the translator, I also got the opportunity to read ahead, so I know exactly how Ah-Xiao is (or is not) after this. We learn a bit more of his past next time, so I'll try to be a bit faster with translating! (But, Wenren Heng, bro, sorry to say, but kissing someone in their sleep without prior consent is not romantic. Shape up!)

Still waiting for the ultimate reveal of the fourth Demonic Sect Elder's name! Come on!

Chapter end