This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable-Chapter 526 - 35: Death Without Evidence

Chapter 526: Chapter 35: Death Without Evidence

At the beginning of the year, after departing from the Sword Sect with Ji Chuan, half a year had already passed, and Lu Qingshan finally had the chance to return to the Sword Sect.

When he left, he was at the Golden Core Late Stage, but upon return, he had reached the Nascent Soul Late Stage.

This should have been a glorious return home… if he hadn’t encountered that Great Xia Cultivator.

Sword Sect, Stabilizing Heart Peak.

The first thing Lu Qingshan did upon returning to the Sword Sect was to visit this peak.

This was the peak overseeing the Sword Sect’s external affairs.

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But according to the Sword Sect’s oral tradition, external affairs were a pretense; the real job was “burying bodies.”

Sword Sect disciples were in charge of killing, Stabilizing Heart Peak was in charge of burying.

Lu Qingshan understood the grave significance of killing an official from Great Xia.

Even if that Great Xia official harbored a killing intent towards him.

Stabilizing Heart Peak Master, Kong Shan, wore a solemn expression, looking at Lu Qingshan somewhat wearily, “Oh, isn’t this our ‘One Sword Breaks the River’? Speak, why have you come to Stabilizing Heart Peak?”

He already had a bad premonition in his heart.

Given the unruly nature of their Sword Cultivators, if it wasn’t for some serious trouble, they wouldn’t likely seek out his Stabilizing Heart Peak.

Therefore, regarding this star of the Sword Sect whose fame had risen rapidly in just half a year since he left, his words carried a hint of irony.

“On the way back to the sect, I killed someone,” Lu Qingshan honestly replied.

“Killed someone?” Kong Shan let out a sigh of relief.

The problem wasn’t big; it was just killing a person, right?

You killers, if you didn’t kill someone when you went down the mountain, that would be truly strange!

I have ample experience handling these matters.

It’s nothing but a familiar task!

Kong Shan’s headache seemed to vanish, his spine straightening unconsciously, his tone softened, and with a smile, he said, “Killing someone, well, that’s not difficult to handle, and this Peak Master can help you resolve it this time.”

“But you must remember, don’t be too excessive when you kill next time,” Kong Shan even took the opportunity to give Lu Qingshan a word of advice.

Kong Shan, frustrated that he couldn’t refine iron into steel, complained, “Do you know, in recent years, people outside have been saying that our Sword Sect is a butcher’s den, that our good reputation has been ruined by you all!”

With his combination of kindness and severity, Kong Shan felt quite accomplished.

“Thank you, Peak Master,” Lu Qingshan said with a sense of shame.

“Tell me, which sect’s disciple did you kill this time?” Kong Shan appeared nonchalant but seemed to remember something, looking suspiciously at Lu Qingshan, “It wasn’t a disciple from another Taoist sect, was it?”

Right, if it wasn’t killing some important person, it was just one person; would this brat need to come to my Stabilizing Heart Peak?

Kong Shan suddenly realized the implications, his head tightening, feeling his headache coming back.

“No,” Lu Qingshan shook his head.

Kong Shan’s headache eased again.

Seeing how handsome the young man was, he didn’t resemble those indiscriminate killers within the sect.

For some reason, in the past few hundred years, there was a trend of regression in the Sword Sect’s atmosphere.

Those brats, who knew who they learned from, often took out their swords and killed people; in recent years, he had wiped quite a few asses, his resentment deep.

Upon further thought, the root cause seemed to be the mismanagement at the top.

Recalling those shameless things the Peak Masters of the main peaks had done, Kong Shan quickly shook his head to dispel these unsightly memories and, with a calm heart, asked, “Then who did you kill?”

“Tell me about it; if it’s not a Taoist sect disciple, killing one or two people is something our Sword Sect can bear.”

“Thank you, Peak Master,” Lu Qingshan replied gratefully, then asked somewhat uncomfortably, “It’s just… I’m still not so clear about who exactly that person was…”

“You killed someone and you don’t quite know who he is?” Kong Shan raised an eyebrow.

“It was my first encounter with that person…” Lu Qingshan spoke the truth.

“You didn’t recognize him, so why did you kill?” Kong Shan asked incredulously, “Did he make a move on you?”

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“Not yet.”

“Not yet?” Kong Shan’s voice rose in pitch.

“Not yet,” Lu Qingshan confirmed with a nod, “Because my sword was faster than his.”

Aren’t you proud of yourself?

Kong Shan mentally complained, then asked, “How did you know he was going to make a move on you?”

“I guessed.” Lu Qingshan had no intention of revealing the Pupil Skill: Identifying Evil.

Keeping this Pupil Skill hidden in the dark was an ace in the hole; if someone plotted against him in the future, there was a great chance they would fall into this pit again.

If it were exposed, with the myriad of Magic Artifacts and Spells within the Cultivation World, it was guaranteed that countermeasures to this Pupil Skill might be found.

“Guessed…” Kong Shan was momentarily at a loss for words, with his headache growing, feeling somewhat frantic.

You have the nerve to say that?

You guessed he was going to kill you, so you killed him?

I feel like crying injustice for the one who died by your hand!

“No problem,” Kong Shan, with his well-tempered experience, possessing an iron-willed resolve, calmed his emotions and reassured, “It’s not hard to mediate this affair, and since the dead can’t testify,

if nobody saw you kill him, you just firmly insist he attacked you first; if someone did see it, you just say he made a move on you previously.”

Truly the Stabilizing Heart Peak Master experienced in managing the sect’s external relations for many years, this expertise indeed showed his savvy!

Lu Qingshan inwardly praised and then seemed somewhat embarrassed as he asked, “Peak Master, is it really no problem? It’s just…”

“Handling such matters, I’m quite adept, of course there’s no question…” Kong Shan was about to readily agree when he suddenly snapped awake, “Just what?”

Lu Qingshan hesitated to say, “It’s just that the person I killed was dressed in Great Xia’s official attire, with the embroidery of a bear on his chest…”

HUM HUM HUM!

The Taoist priest Kong Shan felt his mind begin to buzz like a swarm of hornets out of the nest.

Golden Bear, Golden Bear, what does the Golden Bear represent again?

The Taoist priest Kong Shan, with his tumultuous thoughts, took several moments before he finally remembered.

Fifth Grade.

The Golden Bear corresponds to the Fifth Grade in the Great Xia official hierarchy.

The Taoist priest Kong Shan stared fixedly at Lu Qingshan.

I am truly foolish, indeed.

The Taoist priest Kong Shan lifted his listless eyes.

I only knew this lad looked refined and didn’t seem like a rough character; I didn’t realize his heart was also dark. Right after I joined the sect, I explained to them to refrain from killing if possible, but it went in one ear and out the other.

Sighing deeply in his heart, Kong Shan’s expression turned solemn as he said in a raspy voice, “Tell me, what exactly happened.”

No matter how much trouble he could cause, he was still a scion of our own sect; what could be done about it? Surely we couldn’t just leave it be, could we?

If we truly did nothing, leaving aside being accused of spinelessness by those anxious protectors within the sect, if the Peak Master of Sword Coming Peak got upset, who could withstand it?

Kong Shan felt aggrieved in his heart.

Back when the position of Peak Master of Stabilizing Heart Peak was up for grabs, everyone knew it was a tough job, vying with such modesty, shoving and passing it around, creating a harmonious scene.

In the end, due to my thinner skin, not excusing myself from the others, I reluctantly took up the post.

After hundreds of years, he finally understood the saying, “If a person wants to live long, they need to have thicker skin.”

This position of Peak Master of Stabilizing Heart Peak is really a longevity reducing task!

Lu Qingshan also timely put away his teasing demeanor and began to recount the series of events in a solemn voice.

After Lu Qingshan’s story, Kong Shan’s brow furrowed tightly, the wrinkles on his forehead now creased like a mountain.

This was because over the years, he had furrowed his brow far too often, creating deep wrinkles on his forehead.

“Did you bring back the body of the Great Xia cultivator and the storage ring as well?” Kong Shan asked.

Lu Qingshan nodded, waving his hand, and the body of Gui Yuan True Venerable and his storage ring appeared out of thin air.

“On the way back, I have already checked them myself,” Lu Qingshan said: “In his storage ring, I found nothing out of the ordinary, just some usual items for a cultivator’s practice.”

“Gui Yuan True Venerable…” The moment Kong Shan saw the body, the name slipped from his lips.

“The Peak Master knows this person?”

Kong Shan explained, “This person is Gui Yuan True Venerable, and he held the position of Deputy City Lord of White Tower City.

As White Tower City is one of the Great Xia cities adjacent to our Sword Sect, I had some superficial interactions with him in the past.

I never imagined he would be the one to ambush you.”

As he spoke, Kong Shan released his Divine Sense to wander over the body of Gui Yuan True Venerable and then released his Sword Qi to cut open Gui Yuan’s skin, from which oozed dark red blood.

“There’s no Demonic Qi inside the body, and no demonic blood in his blood either; it doesn’t seem like he was an Underworld Cultivator,” Kong Shan said gravely and took the storage ring of Gui Yuan True Venerable, examining the items inside it closely.

After a quarter of an hour, Kong Shan shook his head helplessly at Lu Qingshan, “Just as you said, there’s nothing else to be found.”

After a long silence, Kong Shan took a deep breath and said, “You should return to your peak for now. You’ve been away from the sect for some time; go see your master first.

I will gather the cultivators of Stabilizing Heart Peak and contemplate how to deal with this matter further. During this time, you must not leave the sect at will; be ready to respond to any summons from the sect.”

“Thank you for your troubles, Peak Master,” Lu Qingshan gratefully bowed and then turned to leave.

“Great Xia…” Watching Lu Qingshan walk away, Kong Shan couldn’t help but rub his temples and muttered, “This is troublesome.”

The previous reason he said the problem was not difficult to solve was the lack of conclusive proof.

Now, the reason he found it troublesome was also for the lack of conclusive proof.

When there’s no need for reason, the lack of conclusive proof lets them fabricate excuses and reasons as they please; if others are not convinced, they could only be frustrated.

But this time, the person Lu Qingshan killed was an official of Great Xia, and the victim was Great Xia.

With Great Xia, they still needed to be reasonable…

“Eh…” Suddenly, Kong Shan remembered a very important matter.

Previously, because Lu Qingshan’s killing of Gui Yuan True Venerable implicated such grave matters, it caused him a huge psychological shock, preventing him from thinking deeply about it.

Now, slightly more composed, he finally realized, “If I remember correctly, isn’t this Gui Yuan True Venerable a late-stage Void Refining Sword Cultivator? How did this lad kill him?!”

….

Lu Qingshan returned to Sword Coming Peak.

He hadn’t figured out why Gui Yuan True Venerable would attempt to assassinate him and what his origins were.

Initially, he thought it highly likely that Gui Yuan True Venerable was a person from the Netherworld.

However, after inspecting Gui Yuan True Venerable’s storage ring and body, he found no trace of objects related to the Netherworld.

Even so, in his heart, the suspicion that Gui Yuan True Venerable came from the Netherworld remained the highest.

Because it was all too clean.

The enormous killing intent Gui Yuan True Venerable harbored against him was not feigned.

There’s no such thing as motiveless killing intent.

Yet on Gui Yuan True Venerable’s person, there was not a single flaw, nor could any mastermind behind him be traced.

It could be described as seamless.

The only organization he could think of that could carry out such a flawless plan was the Netherworld.

As his thoughts drifted, Lu Qingshan recalled something else.

No wonder, when Ji Chuan initially introduced the Peak Master of Stabilizing Heart Peak to their group of new disciples, he described him as:

The Peak Master of Stabilizing Heart Peak, although ranking only in the middle to lower echelons of the Sword Sect in terms of both Sword Dao achievements and talent, is nonetheless one of the most respected Sword Cultivators in the sect.

——From start to finish, Kong Shan didn’t show the slightest doubt towards what seemed to be his unilateral account.