Chapter 161: Confirmed Suspicions (Patreon)

“Honored Elder Wei, I cannot thank you enough! I apologize for not being able to show you the proper respect right now…”

“It matters not.”, Liu Wei waved Lixian Shen’s concerns aside. “I’m merely glad I was not too late.”

He had indeed arrived just in time. Not only had the intruders been seconds away of killing the Burning Thorns Sect’s elder, the poison they had used would also have left permanent damage, had it been allowed to rampage on any longer.

Fortunately, none of that had come to pass. Lixian Shen sat reclined against the wall, breathing deep but steady breaths. The wounds she had suffered would need some time to recover, but they were nothing serious for a cultivator of her level.

“Honored Elder Wei, I apologize, but could you bring me my mask? It shames me to inflict this unsightly appearance of mine on you.”

She weakly raised her arm to gesture to where the ivory mask she’d been wearing anytime he’d seen her before had fallen. He nodded and stood up.

“Of course. Though I will have you know it does not bother me.”

The half of her face that her mask had been covering was indeed no pretty sight; leathery and charred, it bore the mark of flames burning through flesh. But while it may look disturbing to most, to Liu Wei it was a sight he was all too familiar with. In fact, he had been the one to inflict similar injuries on many of those who had survived a confrontation on the battlefield with him. So, while the sight of Lixian Shen’s scar brought back many an unpleasant memory, it did not call forth any revulsion in him. If anything, seeing someone follow the Dao of Fire despite bearing such a wound was quite impressive.

He snatched up the mask and returned it to Lixian Shen, who carefully affixed it to her face.

“What does bother me, however,” he continued his earlier statement, “is how a group of demonic cultivators managed to make it into your sect undetected.”

He himself had only noticed the altercation by pure coincidence; he’d made a round through the sect on the lookout for suspicious activities, something he’d started doing several times a day, when his soul sense had alerted him of it.

Liu Wei examined the five intruders once more. They’d been quite strong, as far as demonic cultivators went, and the extensive network of qi channels throughout their bodies reflected that.

Still, that did nothing to explain how they had managed to make their way past the sect’s defensive formations undetected. He’d personally taken the time to inspect them a couple of days ago and confirmed that they were working just fine. They were not the most sophisticated he’d seen, but there was no way this caliber of demonic cultivator would have been capable of fooling them.

It reminded him of how the assassin of Yifei Xia had made it past his own sect’s formations – just like in that case, there was only one real explanation: Someone from inside must have assisted them.

“We have debating that very same question ever since they first assassinated one of us in here.”

“And could I ask what your conclusion was?”

The elder remained silent for a while.

“Officially, the council of elders agreed that they somehow managed to replicate Patriarch Sha’s access token, or that they possess another sort of artifact that lets them pass the formations undetected. The alternative… someone helping them… has remained unspoken until now.”

“I’m not familiar with how the formations your sect uses function, but if memory serves, tokens like that would need to be individually registered into the formation, wouldn’t they?”

The Lunar Peaks Sect’s formations directly registered and recognized its members’ soul signatures instead of issuing tokens, which was considered the most secure method, but as far as he knew any systems using access tokens instead should at least have a solid protection against outside replication of them.

“Yes… they would. We figured that they may have found a way around it…”

She glanced at the bodies of the five intruders.

“But I don’t suppose they carry something like that?”

Liu Wei shook his head. He had already checked their bodies and besides their weapons, clothing and several vials of poison there was nothing of interest on them.

She sighed.

“Then…”

“…Someone is almost certainly helping them. Someone from your sect.”

“I had feared that that would be the case. If this gets out… our sect member’s faith in us is already damaged as is…”

“We shall approach the matter carefully.”

“My thanks, honored Elder Wei.”

“One more question, out of curiosity: Were you the one who had that letter delivered to me?”

“What? I apologize, but I do not know what you are speaking off.”

The woman seemed genuinely confused by the question.

“I see.”

Liu Wei stroked his beard. He had apparently guessed wrongly.

“Well, don’t let it bother you. We should start by alerting your fellow elders to what has happened. And then…” He gestured to one of the demonic cultivators, whose hand was just beginning to twitch.

“We have someone to question.”

…

“Our sect cannot thank you enough, revered Elder Wei! It is only thanks to your brilliant instincts that our neglect didn’t cost us the life of another of our elders!”

Lixian Shen watched as Tang Luli danced around Elder Wei singing his praises. With how she had seen him act just now, she somehow doubted that the head elder’s demeanor was as effective at swaying the powerful cultivator as he likely believed, which added a layer of comedy to the whole display.

Unfortunately, she didn’t quite feel like laughing right now. She’d long suspected that someone was aiding the demonic cult from inside the sect, but to have it all but confirmed like this still weighed heavy on her.

At the very least, it seemed like Elder Wei was intending to take this matter seriously. She’d feared that he may do as Tang Luli had suggested and leave them alone in dealing with the cult, but he didn’t seem like that sort of man.

And, for the first time, they had a solid lead. She looked over the demonic cultivator who had been bound to a chair in the middle of the council chamber. The broad-framed man was the first demonic cultist they had managed to capture alive – or rather, Elder Wei had done so.

His vicious facial features, somewhat wild black hair and disdainful gaze fit perfectly with the image any child would have of a demonic cultivator. She shuddered slightly at the memory; This man was the archer that had almost been the end of her. Elder Wei had informed her that he possessed the most advanced cultivation between the five attackers, and he suspected him their leader.

“Elder Wei, you need not concern yourself with the questioning of this… disgusting creature. I shall personally take care of it!”

Lixian Shen almost expected Elder Wei to deny this ridiculous request, but he only nodded. Perhaps he did hold some regard for the head elder after all, or he simply didn’t want to embarrass him.

Elder Wei sat down in a chair next to her and the other elders followed suit while Tang Luli stepped before the demonic cultivator, who silently glared at him.

“Out with it, demonic scum! Where is the hole that your ilk uses to hide from us?”

The man sneered.

“And why should I tell you?”

His rough voice was dripping with disdain.

“Because it will spare you much suffering, swine. We both know your disgusting kind aren’t capable of loyalty anyway, so you may as well tell us now.”

“That’s all you have? ‘Scum’? ‘Swine’?”

The man’s sneer widened into a grin.

“My own mother did me worse insults! But what can one expect from uptight sect-bastards like you…”

“Silence, scum! I shall…”

“Oh, now you don’t want me to talk? I thought you were questioning me. Wait, I think I just remembered where our hideout is. We’re all holed up in your mother’s–”

The sudden singing of steel interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. Without warning, Tang Luli had drawn his sword and struck. Lixian Shen watched in disbelief as the demonic cultivator’s head sailed through the air and landed several feet behind the body from which it had been cleanly severed.

“Elder Luli!”

She instinctively jumped out of her chair, only for her still weakened legs to almost give out. She staggered before catching her chairs armrests to support herself.

“That man was our best lead yet! How could you…”

“A creature like that does not deserve to breathe the same air as we, Elder Shen. What would he have told us but lies and deceit anyways?”

“But you can’t just…”

“I could and I did, Elder Shen. Now please sit down again. You should not strain your body so soon after surviving the attempt on your life.”

Tang Luli wiped his blade on the dead man’s clothes before re-sheathing it, seemingly perfectly calm. Then he turned to Elder Wei.

“I apologize, Revered Elder Wei, but I could let these insults to our sect continue. I’m sure you understand.”

“…Of course, Elder Luli.”

“My thanks. Now, instead of dwelling on this unsavory incident, let us dissolve this meeting. We will celebrate Elder Wei’s deeds with a proper feast later.”