Chapter 390: Partial and Impartial Truths (Patreon)

"Progress is a natural truth of the world."

~~~

An hour passes, and the people begin making their way down to the ground floor. Though the capacity of the amphitheater is far larger than the number of people currently in the House Without Corners, it does not take long for the seats closest to the main stage to be filled. Only those who are performing their duty in the chamber of renewal are absent.

The Scribe of the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak sits in the center of the stage. Elder Tree Shadow stands to his left. His green glare is aimed straight at Liu Jin, who stands to the right of the Scribe with Lord Feng Shang. For this matter, Liu Jin turned to him for help, but not before offering some apologies to Great Mother. The old woman smiled and patted his head before telling him it was no problem. It is best if she and the Scribe are not put in direct opposition.

“It seems we are all gathered here,” the Scribe says, taking in the many faces around him. “Very well, let us review the facts of the case. Elder Tree Shadow, you may begin.”

Liu Jin and Feng Shang step back, letting the Elder have the stage. He immediately calls a disciple of the Temple of the Thousand Shadows, a man with a full beard who cannot seem to stop twitching and looking around nervously.

“Day Shadow,” Elder Tree Shadow says once the disciple is seated on the witness chair. “You were the one who discovered Green Shadow’s body, were you not? When was the last time you saw him alive?”

“I…Yes, Elder!” Day Shadow says, almost biting his tongue in the process. He blushes, but presses on. “The last time I saw Green Shadow alive was…Well, it was right after the alchemy contest.”

The gazes of several people turn to Liu Jin, who ignores them with practiced ease.

“He was very angry,” Day Shadow continues. “Green Shadow…He doesn’t like to lose, so he went to his room to sul–I mean, he retired to his room to meditate on his defeat and told us he was not to be bothered. That’s the last any of us saw of him. The next day, I went to check on him. That’s when I found him like that.”

“Dead?”

“Dead,” Day Shadow repeats, nodding several times.

“Were there no signs of an intruder or a struggle?”

“None. Nothing was broken or anything.”

“Yours was the room next to his, correct?” the Elder asks.

“Unfor-I mean, yes!” Day Shadow says, nodding repeatedly.

“And you did not sense anything throughout the night? You heard no one open his door? You felt no disturbances?”

Day Shadow shakes his head.

“No. Nothing like that.”

“Good, that will be all. You may return to your seat,” Elder Tree Shadow says before looking at Liu Jin and Lord Feng Shang. “Unless you have any questions you want to ask?”

Lord Feng Shang shakes his head.

“That will not be necessary.”

As soon as the words leave Feng Shang’s mouth, Day Shadow rushes off the stage. He is obviously nervous, but Liu Jin does not think it is because he is lying. He seems like the type who cannot handle being put in front of other people.

Liu Jin can relate.

“As you have been made aware, Green Shadow was last seen alive yesterday,” Elder Tree Shadow says, addressing the Scribe. “During that time, no one was seen entering his room. Normally, it would have been easy to sense his death, but the barriers in the tower prevent it. No one can sense what happens in a room once the door has been closed. I am sure you have all noticed it.”

Several people nod, already aware of the fact. Liu Jin is no different. He noticed it when he met with Ten Thousand Faces yesterday.

“That means that sometime between Green Shadow retiring to his room yesterday afternoon and his body being found dead this morning, someone went into his room, unnoticed, and killed him. This act was done so stealthily and suddenly that Green Shadow did not have the opportunity to fight back. Otherwise, there would have been signs of a struggle. You all know how much damage a cultivator in the Heaven Realm can cause when fighting for his life. Only one person here has the skill to make that assassination.”

Murmurs buzz throughout the amphitheater like hundreds of insects during the summer.  

“It is impressive,” Lord Feng Shang says, “how easily you confuse the facts with your own conclusions. All you have proved is that Green Shadow went to his room after being defeated, that no one has come forward saying he left it, and that he was found dead this morning with no signs of struggle. That is all.”

“He is right, Elder Tree Shadow,” the Scribe says. “Please, limit yourself to the facts.”

“Of course,” Tree Shadow says with a stiff smile. “Let us limit ourselves to the facts. For four thousand years, we have gathered here to revitalize the barrier that protects us from the foul stench of demons. This has been possible, despite our many differences, because we all trust the tower's protection. For four thousand years, not a single person has been harmed in the House Without Corners outside of the competitions that required it. We must ask ourselves how this came to pass. Who among us could have done it? Who among us has the skill required to carry out an assassination entirely undetected? That will lead us to the culprit.”

Tree Shadow does not look at Liu Jin while he speaks, even though he might as well be hurling daggers at him with his words. In the absence of any evidence that directly proves Liu Jin did it, his argument is that no one but Liu Jin could have killed Green Shadow.

It is a very annoying position.

“As Elder Tree Shadow says, we must limit ourselves to the facts. That being the case, should we not hear from the person accused?” Lord Feng Shang says. He looks to the Scribe for permission and receives it. “Emperor Qing Jin, would you please come forward?”

Gasps and hushed whispers are plentiful as Liu Jin moves to the center of the stage.

“What did you do after your contest with the now-deceased Green Shadow?” Lord Feng Shang asks.

“After the contest, it was my turn to take part in the renewal ceremony,” Liu Jin says. “Everyone there can confirm I was in that room for at least six hours.”

“Did this happen immediately after the contest?”

“No,” Liu Jin says. “There was some time in between. I spent it with my wife.”

He waves at Xiao Shuang, who happily waves back. Elder Tree Shadow’s lips thin, but he does not interrupt.

“And after your role in the renewal ceremony was over?”

“I went back to my room with my wife,” Liu Jin says.

“Some might doubt the word of your spouse,” Lord Feng Shang says. “Wouldn’t you say that, as Elder Tree Shadow claims, you were out of the public eye long enough to carry out an assassination? Theoretically, of course.”

“I disagree,” Liu Jin says, shaking his head. “It would be impossible for me to carry out the assassination in the way it was done. The injury that killed him is not one I could have done.”

“Ah, that is right.” Lord Feng Shang angles his body so he is looking at Liu Jin while also keeping the Scribe and Elder Tree Shadow in his line of sight. “You were one of the doctors who looked at Green Shadow’s corpse, correct?”

“One of many, yes,” Liu Jin says.

Because of the inherent distrust everyone here has for everyone else, many people refused to believe Green Shadow was truly dead. This resulted in multiple doctors going in and out of his room to confirm the fact.

It was rather pitiful.

“How was he killed?” Feng Shang asks. “Say it for the benefit of all those gathered here.”

“A sudden blow to his central dantian,” Liu Jin replies without hesitation. “It completely destroyed it while also striking and destroying his soul at the same time. All the doctors who examined his corpse agreed on this.”

“And this would have been impossible for you?”

“Yes,” Liu Jin says. “Putting aside the difference in power that even one level of cultivation in the Heaven Realm creates, the three dantian are the hardest part of our beings to damage. They are where we gather our Qi, and that extreme concentration of energy has resulted in a natural barrier. Cultivators on the same level might be able to break each other’s bones and wound their souls, but they will not have such an easy time damaging their dantian.”

“Indeed,” Lord Feng Shang says. “I would like to think we are all educated enough to be aware of such simple truths, but I appreciate you voicing them for the benefit of all. It would be a pity if something as banal as panic made us lose sight of them.”

Elder Tree Shadow sets his jaw tight as Liu Jin and Feng Shang point out the largest flaw in his argument. A cultivator's dantian cannot be easily damaged, especially by someone on a lower level. The Elder had not been unaware of it, but he had surely hoped that blind panic and hysteria would push his accusation forward. Whether he truly believes Liu Jin is responsible for Green Shadow’s death is uncertain. However, he is most definitely trying to use this opportunity to obtain Liu Jin.

“For someone on the Second Level of the Heaven Realm to not just damage but completely destroy the dantian of someone in the Fifth Level of the Heaven Realm in one strike should be impossible,” Feng Shang states with finality. “Even someone at a slightly higher level than the now-deceased Green Shadow would find it difficult. Unless, of course, said person possessed a sufficiently powerful technique capable of concentrated damage backed by a high affinity towards destruction.”

No one misses how Feng Shang looks at Xun Huwen in the audience as he says that. The former disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan smiles and waves at him.

“Regardless, the truth of the matter is that Emperor Qing Jin simply cannot be guilty of the crime he is accused of.”

“You speak well, Lord Feng Shang,” Elder Tree Shadow says, his voice rising over the murmurs of the audience. Those undecided are being swayed by Feng Shang, and he needs to halt his momentum. “However, no amount of small truths can hide the fundamental one. Only one person here knows [Art of the Roaming Thief]. That is the only way this crime could have been committed."

“That is merely your assumption,” Feng Shang replies. “You have held fast to the idea all this time, but who is to say that there is not another way?”

“Oh? I thought we were supposed to limit ourselves to the truth, not petty assumptions!” Elder Tree Shadows mocks him. “The tower has held strong for four thousand years!”

“Progress is a natural truth of the world,” Feng Shang counters. “Yes, the barriers in this tower have held strong for four thousand years. That means, for four thousand years, people have been trying to find ways to circumvent them. Why would you assume they won’t eventually succeed? Nothing lasts forever.”

Curiously, the one who replies to his words is not Elder Tree Shadow.

It is the Scribe of the Heavenly Sword.

“You are saying something dangerous,” the Scribe says, frowning at Lord Feng Shang.

Because if Lord Feng Shang is right, this is not something that can be blamed on an ancient technique only one person knows. Instead, it is the result of a deliberate attempt to subvert the barrier. There is a method to it, a process. That means it is repeatable.

It undermines the entire ceremony.

“I am saying what needs to be said,” Lord Feng Shang says. He looks in the direction of the Death Fashioning Scripture. “Years ago, there was an incident in the Eternal Flame Clan, a seeming malfunction of our barriers. The culprit was revealed to be one of my Elders. During the interrogation, he revealed he was working with outsiders.”

“What are you implying?”

Ten Thousand Faces’ voice rises from the audience, barely above a whisper yet audible to everyone. His presence spreads through the room, the very cold of the grave.

“I am merely stating that some people here have already shown a fascination with barriers,” Feng Shang says.

The reaction is immediate. Those from the Death Fashioning Scripture stand up and shout, hurling denials and insults. Meanwhile, the Temple of the Thousand Shadows immediately seizes the chance to start accusing them. The entire hall descends into chaos.

Liu Jin looks at Lord Feng Shang. The two share a nod.

“Enough!” The Scribe says. The noisy hall goes immediately quiet. “This behavior is unacceptable.”

He looks at those assembled in disappointment. A tired sigh leaves his mouth.

“Elder Tree Shadow,” he says, head turning. “You have said much, but can you produce a single person who can definitely prove Emperor Qing Jin is the culprit?”

Elder Tree Shadow stays silent, his jaw set tight.

“In that case, the idea that he must be delivered into your custody is outrageous,” the Scribe says.

Xiao Shuang and Fu Lihua jump and hug each other while several others cheer. Feng Zhuo smiles and gives Liu Jin a nod.

However, another sentiment soon starts forming among the crowd.

“But if Emperor Qing Jin did not do it…”

“That means there is an assassin among us!”

“It could still be the Emperor of the Storm Dragon Empire! They didn’t say he was innocent! Just that it couldn’t be proved that he did it!”

“It was the Death Fashioning Scripture! I’m sure of it!”

“What if we’re next?”

“Our safety cannot be guaranteed any longer!”

“Why are we here then?”

The Scribe’s hands go to his seals.

Everyone watches, suddenly silent, as the man opens his robes and tears out a seal. Then another. One by one, they all fall to the ground. His Qi, previously undetectable, rolls in waves, like a tide rising until it has swallowed the entire shore. When the last of the seals is gone, the entire room is submerged in him.

“None can leave the House Without Corners while the ceremony takes place,” he says, standing up. “You will remain here, and you will fulfill your duty. Only when the ceremony is over will you be free to leave. However, I understand your fears. Thus, I must act to ensure your safety. Until all is over, you are all confined to your rooms. No one is to leave them unless you are called to perform your part in the ceremony.”

Liu Jin frowns. He and Feng Shang share a look. It sounds like the Scribe is making an impartial choice, but by locking everyone in their rooms, he has effectively confined Liu Jin without saying he is doing it.

“How pleasing it is to hear that.”

No one sees Great Mother move, yet she is suddenly in the center of the stage, right in front of the Scribe. She is shorter than him by more than a head, yet she does not flinch away as the two stare each other down.

​“What is the meaning of this?” the Scribe asks.

“Meaning?” Great Mother blinks innocently. “I was just so heartened by your display to restore order that I have decided to support you. Surely, with the two of us working together, we can ensure that no harm is done to anyone."

She does not trust the Scribe at all.

“How pleasing it is to hear that,” the Scribe says, echoing Great Mother’s words.

Neither of the two steps back. Neither moves. They are locked in place by each other’s presence, unwilling to push further out of fear of what might happen.  

“Perhaps it is best if everyone returns to their rooms,” Great Mother says.

“A good suggestion,” the Scribe answers.

Many of those gathered are some of the strongest and most important people in their lands.

Before the might of two Divinities, they can do little but be sent to their rooms like misbehaving children.

~~~

Mini-Character List

Liu Jin: Our protagonist. Bonding with his father-in-law.

The Scribe: Scribe of the Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak. The confinements will continue until morale improves.

Elder Tree Shadow: Elder of the Temple of the Thousand Shadows. Does not really believe Liu Jin killed Green Shadow, but would prefer it if it was true due to the implications. 

Feng Shang: Liu Jin’s father-in-law. A lifetime with Feng Gui has made him really good at deliberately annoying people.

Day Shadow: Disciple of the Temple of the Thousand Shadows. Despite his nervousness, he is a very talented disciple. Also, has a great singing voice.

Ten Thousand Faces: Elder of the Death Fashioning Scripture. Does not appreciate being called out like that.

Great Mother: Mostly retired leader of the Divine Frozen Palace. She stands there. Menacingly.