Chaotic World Book-Chapter 447 - 434: The Disappearance of Sword Pavilion

Once, Zhao Changhe had suggested to Tang Wanju to witness the "Ba Mountain Night Rain Swells the Autumn Pond," but by the time he finally arrived, it was already early summer.

The timing didn’t coincide with the poetic scene described in those famous lines, and Zhao Changhe admitted that he had run out of ink in his belly, unable to compose a poem anymore.

Who knows, besides the Sword Pavilion, if there was a Taoist Gu in Ba Mountain who could perform the Forty-Nine Strikes of the Backwind Willow Sword?

Leaving Huiji while leading his horse, all through his journey away from the Tang family’s sphere of influence, whether meeting Imperial officials or people from the Worldly Society who recognized him and his Big Broadsword, each treated him with great respect. In any town where he rested, the reception was always grand.

Especially upon reaching Xiangyang... the Blood God Sect, having finished the war, did not return to their own Wushan but still stationed in Xiangyang and seemed to get addicted to this kind of day where they climbed ranks through officially sanctioned killings. Naturally, when Zhao Changhe passed by, he also went to see Sect Hierarch Xue and Sun Jianxi, and the welcome he received was akin to that given to an emperor on tour.

Yet for some reason, Zhao Changhe felt not as comfortable as before he challenged Sect Hierarch Xue, who watched him cautiously.

And now, after passing beyond Xiangyang, starting to traverse lands unrelated to his previous affiliations, fewer people on the road recognized him, and he felt as free as a dragon returning to the sea.

When he stepped onto Ba Mountain, it felt as if he had returned from the world back to the Worldly Society, where the ecosystem was different, and it was as if he was truly home.

Perhaps it’s just cheap sentiment...

Speaking of the supposed ruffians on the road, there are really none now... The south is in the initial stages of chaos, with the presence of various military forces felt strongly everywhere, "sweeping up the remnants of Maitreya’s followers," leaving no bandits or thieves daring to pop up. For most of Zhao Changhe’s trip, he was traveling by boat and apart from cities like Xiangyang where he disembarked to rest, it was all calm and nothing happened.

Yet everywhere one looked, there was desolation from the ravages of war, and who knows when it would recover.

It is even more likely that it won’t recover within a few years, as the warlord-like situation has become quite apparent. The southern gentry resisted Maitreya on their own, resulting in each power now exceeding normal boundaries. It is only because the Tang family’s presence in this war has been too dominant and restraining, with all parties wary of the Tang family. If there ever were a hiccup within the Tang family, then the chaos that ensued might be even more troubling than Maitreya’s uprising.

During these days when Tang Wanju hasn’t been with him, she has been "discussing Jiangnan affairs" with Tang Buqi, what has she been so busy about? Akin to the warlords dispersing post the coalition against Dong Zhuo, isn’t it quite similar to the current situation?

It feels like, following this train of thought, Tang Buqi could probably say, "If there were no me in this world, I wonder how many would declare themselves emperor or king"...

Alright, why are these thoughts still swirling in my head, I should be focusing on Ba Mountain.

Why is there no guard at Ba Mountain, it’s making it hard for me to get back into the mindset of the Worldly Society...

Eh...

Zhao Changhe suddenly frowned and slowly approached.

In the distance, he could vaguely see the eaves of a wooden hut, still a bit damp from the rain of early summer. This should be the location of the Sword Pavilion... But why, upon listening carefully, was there no sound of people?

Zhao Changhe slowly walked over, and indeed there were wooden huts ahead, humble and unassuming, like the dwellings of monks in austere practice.

Sword marks were frequently visible on the surrounding trees, carelessly left by sword practice.

But the huts were empty, desolate and devoid of life.

The Sword Pavilion was empty? Where were the people?

Zhao Changhe tensed up, slowly heading towards what seemed to be the main house.

The doors were tightly shut, and when he touched them, there was no dust... They must not have left too long ago.

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment before he forcefully expelled his Inner Strength and broke into the building.

This was a rather large hall, with a huge character for "Sword" hanging on the front wall, the brushwork fierce and stern. Apart from this, there was no other decor, only ordinary tables and chairs, the utmost in simplicity.

This must be the main hall of the Sect...

There were no corpses, no blood, but the people were gone... Had the entire Sword Pavilion relocated?

Zhao Changhe clicked his tongue in annoyance. Judging by the layer of dust, they couldn’t have moved long ago. If he had gone here first when he was in Xiangyang, he might have met someone, but more pressing matters had called, and he simply couldn’t make it... Now, he had missed his chance, where would he find the Spirit Awakening Grass now?

He wondered if they had cleaned out their stores...

Normally during a move, important items are taken with not even a trace left behind, cleaner than a dog’s lick. Carrying a sliver of hope, Zhao Changhe searched around and found a securely locked storeroom, breaking in.

The storeroom was somewhat disorderly, with a number of standard clothes, standard longswords tossed aside carelessly, and he could even see rice and flour... As for money and valuables, they were indeed as clean as if licked by a dog, not even a copper coin left behind. It was a typical scene of moving out, important items gone, the trivial stuff considered and left in place, nothing unusual.

After a thorough search, he found the medicine storage, equally spotless, leaving only common medicines for insect bites and stings in disorderly heaps.

Zhao Changhe popped open a few bottles and sniffed, casting them aside in disappointment.

It really was a large-scale, normal relocation, with no abnormalities to be seen... Zhao Changhe shook his head and walked away, reluctantly glancing back once more.

That glance suddenly made him pause in confusion.

Why were there night traveling clothes among those piled-up garments?

He strode back for a closer look, and indeed, they were night traveling clothes—and not just one or two, but a whole batch of them on a large scale.

A group of silent, restrained swordsmen, and their sect’s standard issue actually included night traveling garments?

The three words "Listening Snow Tower" surfaced in Zhao Changhe’s mind.

The Ba Mountain Sword House, could it really be the Listening Snow Tower... There hadn’t been any news of this once dreaded assassin organization committing any acts recently, could it be that they’ve encountered some issues?

Yue Hongling had previously mentioned she would pay a visit to the Ba Mountain Sword House. If the Sword House were a normal swordsman sect, they would undoubtedly welcome the "Sunset Divine Sword" for a friendly exchange, but if the Sword House was indeed the Listening Snow Tower, that would complicate matters... because Yue Hongling was clearly a target for assassination with a bounty on her head, having offended not a few with her chivalrous deeds; the underworld was awash with hefty bounties on her, even more valuable than his own you, Zhao Changhe...

However, Yue Hongling, much like Zhao Changhe himself, had unpredictable movements, making her hard to track down, let alone easily assassinate. But if she willingly walked into the headquarters of an assassin collective... Zhao Changhe could almost picture Yue Hongling realizing something was wrong and immediately attempting to escape, breaking out of an encirclement; the Lady Yue was very alert, after all.

Could the relocation of the Sword House be related to this? Did an attempt to assassinate Yue Hongling fail, leading to the organization being exposed, necessitating a move?

The possibility existed.

If that was the case...

Zhao Changhe suddenly turned and bolted out the door, darting into the woods off the unconventional mountain path.

If there was a fight, participants would likely soar up and scatter through the woods instead of taking the regular mountain trail, which would explain the lack of visible signs on the way... But in the forest, evidence was bound to be found.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before he saw the unmistakable signs of combat in the damaged trees.

Further on, he also saw corpses...

Zhao Changhe squatted down to examine the bodies, which had been dead for quite a while, already stinking and covered with maggots. Yet it was still clear that they had been pierced through the throat with a sword—quick and clean, a trademark sign of Yue Hongling’s swordsmanship, unmistakable even in ashes.

Zhao Changhe quickly followed the trail, finding several more bodies along the way, with dried blood indicating an escape out of the mountains, until abruptly disappearing outside the mountain.

Zhao Changhe eyed the path ahead, pondering in silence.

If he wasn’t wrong, there must have been a swift horse nearby to pick up the injured Yue Hongling.

The master of the Sword House, Spirit Awakening, might not have been present at the time and thus unable to stop Yue Hongling; once he returned and realized what had happened, he decisively ordered the entire sect to relocate, while he probably went after Yue Hongling himself.

The basic outline should be as such.

So the question arises, with Hongling injured and Spirit Awakening ranking high on the Earth List.

Could she possibly survive if caught?

But it’s been a long time since the incident, and there hasn’t been any news of Yue Hongling’s misfortune on the Chaotic World List...

Eventually, Zhao Changhe couldn’t help but blurt out, "Hey, are you there?"

Dragon Sparrow: "?"

"Wasn’t calling you, fortune-teller!"

The blind man didn’t respond.

"Damn it, stop pretending, I know you know! I’m just asking to ease my mind a bit, not asking you to spill any secrets—it’s just a small favor, considering how well we know each other. Besides, it’s your ’fortune-telling,’ not something you’ve seen..."

The blind man finally spoke irritably, "No incident. Figure it out yourself. Don’t ask me."

Zhao Changhe heaved a deep sigh of relief: "Thank you."

The blind man paused, then fell silent.

If Hongling was on the run, where would she go?

Zhao Changhe didn’t hesitate to leave the regular mountain trail and mount his horse, Wuzhui, speeding off to the southwest.

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