509: Chapter 19 Old Stories of Qingyun

"Senior Brother Green Pine, Senior Brother Wan is not dead."

As soon as Tian Buyi said this, the words of rage that Green Pine was about to spit at Mysterious Dao, Tian Buyi, and Water Moon True Person were stuck in his throat, as if he were a duck being strangled by the neck.

Beside him, Water Moon True Person was equally shocked, evidently unaware of this matter.

A moment later, Green Pine stared intently at Tian Buyi and Mysterious Dao, his expression full of disbelief, and he denied it as well: "Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"Fatty Tian, you are lying to me!"

Though he said it was impossible, a glimmer of hope involuntarily sprouted in his heart, hoping it was true. Even if this would turn his century-long resentment into a joke, or even make him pay the price for his wrongdoings.

Tian Buyi keenly noticed this and couldn't help but sigh: "In your current situation, why would I lie to you?"

He then continued: "The matter of killing the master back then was indeed done by Senior Brother Wan. However, he did so out of necessity, because only in this way could our Qingyun be better preserved."

"You are also aware of Senior Brother Wan's affairs back then."

"It is a fact that he fell in love with You Ji, the Vermilion Bird Envoy of the Demonic Path, and that You Ji intended to disintegrate Qingyun from within and even steal the zhu xian sword."

"Senior Brother Wan was implicated because of this, and Senior Martial Uncle Tiancheng Zi, who was the Sect Head, asked him to choose between the Sect and love. As it turned out, he was young and impulsive, bewitched by the beauty of that enchantress, and chose the latter."

"Senior Martial Uncle Tiancheng Zi was deeply disappointed and had him imprisoned and expelled."

"Perhaps you feel that this punishment was too severe; I thought so too at the time."

"Only later did I understand that Senior Martial Uncle Tiancheng Zi imposed such a heavy punishment because, through You Ji's mission, he discovered the wolfish ambition of the Demonic Path, which had no intention of easing the relationship between the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path. The Righteous Path and the Demonic Path, in the end, cannot coexist peacefully."

"And at that time, in his heart, Senior Brother Wan was the most suitable successor for the Sect Head, just as we thought."

"Therefore, he made Senior Brother Wan choose."

"What Senior Martial Uncle did not expect was that Senior Brother Wan chose romantic entanglement."

"And the most basic principle of a competent Sect Head is to put the Sect above all else and not be swayed by emotions, especially romantic entanglement. Otherwise, it is easy to go astray, and the price paid may not only be the interests of the Sect, but also the lives of the Disciples in the Sect and even all the Senior Brothers."

"Senior Brother Wan's choice greatly disappointed Senior Martial Uncle, who felt that he was not suitable to succeed as Sect Head, or rather, that he was not qualified at the time."

"Therefore, Senior Martial Uncle imposed a heavy punishment but did not give up on him entirely, hoping that Senior Brother Wan would understand during his imprisonment."

"At that time, Senior Brother Wan was trapped by love and failed to understand Senior Martial Uncle's painstaking efforts."

"It wasn't until the Righteous-Demonic War broke out later, and Senior Martial Uncle fell into demonic obsession due to using the zhu xian sword and mistakenly harmed the Disciples in the Sect, that Senior Brother Wan suddenly realized."

"However, Senior Brother Wan knew that his impulsive nature could not be changed, and to avoid causing irreparable disasters in the future, he gave up the idea of succeeding as Sect Head."

"Later, the possessed Senior Martial Uncle broke free from the Restriction and wanted to go mad and hurt people. Senior Brother Wan, Senior Brother Mysterious Dao, and I happened to be there, so we tried to stop him together. But our cultivation at that time was not as good as Senior Martial Uncle's, and we could not suppress him without injury or imprison him again, yet we could not let Senior Martial Uncle go out and hurt other Disciples."

"With no other choice, Senior Brother Wan had to help Senior Martial Uncle find release."

"Afterward, Senior Brother Wan said he was not acting on impulse but had considered it."

"He had already been expelled, so taking on another crime, even a major one like killing the master, would just add a bit more hardship. On the contrary, if I and Senior Brother Mysterious Dao were to bear such a major crime for no reason, it would be a great hindrance."

"Especially Senior Brother Mysterious Dao."

"After Senior Brother Wan gave up the idea of succeeding as Sect Head, he thought carefully and felt that Senior Brother Mysterious Dao was the most suitable person to succeed as Sect Head."

"Senior Brother Mysterious Dao is the Eldest Senior Brother, his talent and cultivation are on par with Senior Brother Wan, and he also has the means and ability. Most importantly, in the two points of 'not being swayed by emotions' and 'staying calm in handling matters,' he does much better than him."

Mysterious Dao: "..."

Although what Tian Buyi said was the truth, he felt a bit strange, as if he had been subtly insulted.

Tian Buyi's words continued: "Therefore, Senior Brother Wan, just like he used to protect us in front of him when encountering danger, took the initiative to bear the guilt of killing the master."

"After Senior Brother Mysterious Dao understood, he naturally could not let Senior Brother Wan bear the infamy and lose his life, so he secretly saved Senior Brother Wan."

"This can also be considered one of the few times he was swayed by emotion."

"There are many inside stories about this matter, and it is of great importance, so we kept it a secret and never spoke of it to the outside world."

"If it weren't for you, Senior Brother Green Pine, committing a grave mistake today and bringing up the events of that year, and since only we are present, I would never have spoken of it."