58: Chapter 58 Righteous Sword Immortal

[At the edge of the cliff, the wind was strong.]

[Below the cliff was a bottomless abyss, with clouds and mist churning; occasionally, the calls of unknown birds echoed, sometimes near, sometimes far.]

[You placed him at the cliff's edge and remained silent for a moment.]

[Then you let go.]

[The body tumbled down into the clouds and mist, growing smaller and farther away, until it finally disappeared into the vast expanse of white.]

["Be a good person in your next life," you whispered.]

[The wind scattered these words.]

[You stood there for a moment, turned around, and left.]

[In the blink of an eye, a month passed.]

[Because you and Wei Feisen both disappeared after that battle in front of the Cangyun Sect gate, the entire Jianghu was in an uproar.]

[The first version to spread was that you had "perished together."]

["Have you heard? Senior Sister Lin Shuang of the Cangyun Sect fought the Black Tiger Gang leader with her life on the line, and both of them died!"]

["That's not what I heard. They say Lin Shuang used some secret technique to severely injure Wei Feisen, but she exhausted all her strength, and both of them fell off the cliff together."]

["Hiss... Those were two Great Grandmasters, and they're just gone like that?"]

[This version circulated for about ten days, then a second version emerged, and it spread even faster than the first.]

["You're all wrong! Wei Feisen never intended to kill Lin Shuang at all! He brought thousands of people in a grand procession to the Cangyun Sect just to find her!"]

["Yes, yes, yes! I heard that too. Wei Feisen had an engagement with Lin Shuang when they were young, but Lin Shuang ran away, and Wei Feisen spent over a decade looking for her! This man is so devoted!"]

["In the end, they both disappeared together. You say they perished together? I think they've gone off to live as a pair! They're both Great Grandmasters, who could kill the other? They must have developed feelings while fighting, and then went off to live in seclusion somewhere no one could find them!"]

["Ah! That's so romantic!" a group of women exclaimed in disbelief.]

["Oh my god, who can give me a husband like Wei Feisen! Fighting across the world just to find his wife, and in the end, the two of them live in seclusion in the mountains, ignoring the affairs of the world. What kind of divine love is this!"]

["Wake up, Wei Feisen destroyed so many Schools! He killed so many people!"]

["So what? As long as he is ruthless to others and gentle to Lin Shuang, that's enough!"]

["...Fine, you win."]

[Supporters of the two versions argued endlessly in various teahouses and taverns, and some busybodies even set up gambling pools, betting on whether "perished together" or "living as a pair" was the truth.]

Outside the light screen, Lin Shuangwan listened to these rumors, her mouth twitching slightly.

What a "living as a pair."

Divine love.

[Another month passed.]

[The major Schools probably felt that the matter should have a conclusion. Two months had passed; whether dead or alive, someone should have popped up to make a sound. Since no one had appeared, it was highly likely they were dead.]

[Moreover, the major sects breathed a sigh of relief.]

[It's better that they are dead.]

[If they are dead, there is no need to hand over their Cultivation Technique.]

[The Sect Heads of the various Schools met privately, coordinated with the Martial Dao Sect, and soon jointly released an announcement.]

["Wei Feisen, leader of the Black Tiger Gang, acted against the tide, ran rampant, destroyed several Schools, and forcibly demanded the Legacy of various sects. His crimes are monstrous, and he is hated by both man and gods. Senior Sister Lin Shuang, True Disciple of the Cangyun Sect, upholding a heart of chivalry, stepped forward and fought a life-or-death battle against Wei Feisen in front of the Cangyun Mountain gate. In the end, she sacrificed herself for the Dao, perishing together with the bandit leader, and ridding the Martial Forest of this great scourge. Now, the various Schools have reached a consensus to posthumously title Lin Shuang as the 'Righteous and Valiant Sword Immortal.' Her deeds shall be recorded on the Martial Dao Sect's 'Monument of Heroes,' to be remembered forever and to inspire future generations."]

[Once this announcement was released, it served to seal the coffin and settle the debate for the endlessly arguing people of the Jianghu.]

[However, the whispers in the corners of various teahouses did not stop.]

["Righteous and Valiant Sword Immortal, what a grand title; they are truly generous," an old Jianghu drinker sneered. "That young girl risked her life to fight, and they, on the other hand, only stood up to issue an announcement after she died."]

["Shh—keep it down!" the person beside him pulled at him.]

["What keep it down? Look at the half-year when Wei Feisen was running rampant. Where was the Martial Dao Sect? Where were The Ten Great Sects? Where were they when the Qingqi Sect was destroyed? They all shrank their necks and played dead. Now that someone has done the job for them, they jump out to reap the rewards!"]

["Indeed, 'Leader of the Martial Dao'? Heh, I think 'Turtle of the Martial Dao' would be more appropriate."]

["Pfft—"]

["Hahahaha—"]

["To be honest, if it weren't for this young lady Lin Shuang risking her life, these people would still be trembling in their nests right now."]

["Sigh, what a pity. I heard that Lin Shuang was not only extremely beautiful but also dedicated herself to the Martial Dao and did not choose to marry. That is why she became a Great Grandmaster of the Martial Dao in her early thirties; she was truly a Genius rarely seen in a hundred years, and now she is just gone."]

["That's why they say, the good don't live long, while the wicked last a thousand years."]

[The Martial Dao Sect subsequently began to clear out the remnants of the leaderless Black Tiger Gang, and their actions were quite swift.]

[Someone in the Jianghu composed a jingle: "Like quails when Wei Feisen was alive, like fierce tigers after Wei Feisen died."]

[It spread extremely widely.]

[Three months later, you came out of seclusion.]

[Your injuries were suppressed.]

[The price of the "Burning Yuan" secret technique was greater than you had imagined. Although the crack on your Dantian was no longer expanding, there were no signs of it healing either. It was like a thin spiderweb pattern embedded in the wall of your Dantian. You could clearly feel that every time you circulated your True Qi, a trace of extremely weak Internal Energy would leak out from that crack.]

[If not resolved, your cultivation would be firmly pinned at the Early Stage of the Great Grandmaster.]

[During your seclusion, you spent a lot of time studying that Puppet. You moved it out of the cave, examined it over and over again at least a hundred times, tried stuffing Spirit Stones into the hidden cavities, tried tapping its joints, and tried pouring True Qi into its body.]

[After three months of tossing and turning, you gained nothing.]

[You could only temporarily give up and hide the Puppet again.]

[Before leaving the forest, you changed into a clean set of clothes by the stream and applied a disguise again.]

[Then, you returned to the Cangyun Sect.]

[You didn't swagger in through the mountain gate; you climbed over the wall. You are now the "deceased Righteous and Valiant Sword Immortal"; if you walked in through the main gate, you would probably scare the Disciples at the entrance into having a heart attack.]

[You went straight to the West Peak.]

[The light in Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan's study was still on.]

[When you pushed the door open and entered, he was holding a teacup, drinking tea. When he saw you come in, he almost dropped the cup in his hand.]

["You..." He stood up abruptly, his gaze sweeping across your face, and he grabbed your wrist to check your pulse.]

[After confirming it was you, he let out a heavy sigh and plopped back down.]

["Well, well, you still know how to come back." He glared at you. "Three months! Three months without any news, I almost thought what was written on that announcement was true!"]

[You sat down opposite him and poured yourself a cup of tea.]

["Master, I am fine."]

["Fine?" Supreme Elder Su Chenyuan looked you up and down. "What happened to your Dantian?"]