CH 20

Bei Shu was sitting on a couch cross-legged.

Zhang Mu was standing on one knee by the couch, supporting Bei Shu’s leg and looking up at him.

Bei Shu was also looking at him.

Their breaths intertwined in a candle light.

The Golden Glass Beads Staff was leaned to the wall on the side, spreading brilliant moon-like shine.

Their relationship was ambiguous enough to make Changming raise his eyebrows.

But then—

Zhang Mu placed his hand on the back of Bei Shu’s neck and gently caressed it. Bei Shu felt comfortable and closed his eyes. But at that moment, Zhang Mu’s tongue suddenly stretched out and entered Bei Shu’s mouth!

Bei Shu abruptly opened his eyes, started struggling subconsciously, and hit Zhang Mu’s shoulder with his palm. But this strike was like a stone dropped into the sea, raising no waves, and Zhang Mu didn’t move at the slightest; on the contrary, Bei Shu lost his chance to flee for his life. His body trembled, he whimpered, but didn’t manage to escape Zhang Mu.

At this moment, Zhang Mu opened his mouth to an almost impossible angle, swallowing Bei Shu’s lips and half of his cheek, just like a young man eager to express his love to his sweetheart, burning with impatience. This scene was truly bizarre and dreadful.

Bei Shu continued to struggle with the last of his powers and shivered violently, but after some time he gradually stopped.

Zhang Mu let him go, and the body fell on the couch softly.

He hadn’t had enough and licked his lips, as if trying to catch the aftertaste of a delicious meal.

As for Bei Shu—

Changming’s gaze fell on his body.

Bei Shu did not move at all, as if he was sleeping quietly. But Changming knew that even if the body had no injuries from head to toe, if one checked carefully, they would notice that his soul had already left his body.

His soul was sucked away and his spirit suppressed without hurting his body.

This method of killing was exactly the same as the one that killed Liu Xiyu at the back of the mountain in the Qixian Sect.

Changming frowned.

Was Zhang Mu the one who murdered Liu Xiyu?

That couldn’t be right. To win Bei Shu’s trust, Zhang My must have spent much time by his side, so the timeline was wrong.

Yun Hai, who was standing beside Changming, took his hand and wrote a few words on his palm again.

Isn’t it beautiful?

Changming raised his eyes and asked a silent question.

Yun Hai smiled at him teasingly, thinking of something funny.

In a moment, he lifted the muting seal on Changming and snapped his fingers, turning towards the flowers and trees in the garden.

With a bang, the world around him seemed to break into pieces.

This click of his fingers lighted off a cluster of fireworks that soon ignited.

Yun Hai simply grabbed Changming and threw him into Bei Shu’s house.

“Go!”

Yun Hai’s unrestrained laughter was ringing in Changming’s ears. The latter saw Zhang Mu suddenly raise his hand and stare at him with his vicious blood-red eyes, like a beast looking at its prey.

Giving him no time to consider his options, his enemy moved, rushing at Changming like a strong wind!

In the blink of an eye, Changming picked up something next to him and quickly retreated, raising his sleeve.

A light sleeve and nearly nonexistent cultivation, a mantis trying to stop a chariot indeed!

A mantis trying to stop a chariot: to throw straws against the wind.

Zhang Mu sneered. His spiritual energy was surging vigorously, carrying his fierce scorching breath and churning sparks.

He could almost see this sleeve turning into ashes and Changming’s face burning right away, making him howl in agony.

Such a pity. At first he thought that this body was not bad, and could be taken as a new shell—

Unexpectedly, Changming’s sleeve fluttered suddenly, and a black butterfly appeared, flying towards Zhang Mu.

The butterfly was gracefully and excitedly flapping its giant bright wings, not the least bit intimidating.

Zhang Mu frowned and waved his hand to sweep it. Who knew that when his hand touched the butterfly, one butterfly would turn into ten, and ten would turn into a hundred. They surrounded him, and the more he fought, the more butterflies appeared.

But it was too late for Changming to run, as the guards of the Seven Star Platform had long since heard the movements and rushed to stop him.

None of the cultivators who came to the Seven Star Platform could sleep peacefully under such circumstances, pretending to be ignorant.

After hearing the noise, many people ran to the scene one after another. But they were just watching from the sidelines and did not intend to intervene.

Yun Hai was nowhere to be found.

Changming was facing this strange Zhang Mu with a dubious identity all on his own, and those cultivators had no intentions to become involved in matters that had no connection with them.

It seemed like he was utterly surrounded by enemies, ambushed on all sides, and had little chances of survival.

So many years had passed, and he was tricked by his disciple for the first time.

Indeed, if you always walk at night, you are bound to meet a ghost.

If you always walk at night, you are bound to meet a ghost: retribution.

Zhang Mu burst into blue flames, burning all the butterflies to ashes.

He was furious and wanted to kill Changming right now, but, with so many cultivators present, it was no easy task.

He needed a just and honorable accusation.

“This person trespassed on the Seven Star Platform premises and killed Lord Bei Shu! I will definitely make you pay for it with your life today!”

Everyone was shocked. Not a single one of them expected Bei Shu to only enjoy this life of luxury for one night, and then unexpectedly die!

They looked at Changming. He didn’t seem like someone who could kill a high-level master at all.

But he was holding Bei Shu’s Golden Glass Beads Staff in his hand.

It seemed convincing enough.

“Wait!”

Changming swallowed the blood in his throat and decided to put aside the betrayal of his unworthy disciple for now.

“This person named Zhang Mu appears to be Bei Shu’s counselor, but he is actually a transformed evil spirit full of schemes. Daoyou, you shouldn’t believe in his venomous slander!”

Zhang My sneered: “You are calling me an evil spirit? Then I say that you are one! You entered the Seven Star Platform without reason or cause, killed the man to get his resources, and the Golden Glass Beads Staff in your hand speaks for itself! People, seize him!”

He was standing on the staircase with his hands clasped behind his back, and obviously looked down at Changming.

The two of them had just fought hand to hand. Although he was confused by Changming’s puppet butterflies, Zhang Mu checked his limits at that moment.

Since this person saw Bei Shu’s death, Zhang Mu couldn’t let him live!

The Golden Glass Beads Staff in Changming’s hand gave off a cold feeling, clearing his mind.

If he was not mistaken, this staff belonged to the Qingyun School once, but Bei Shu took it away when he left the sect.

It was presumably a spiritual tool of a very high level.

Although it wasn’t as good as his Sifei Sword, he could still use it.

Bei Shu’s subordinates came running from all directions, four people taking the lead and eight people following behind.

Their cultivation levels were not high. They were nobodies on their own, and they could only rely on the Seven Star Platform’s resources, so they could be considered as Bei Shu’s ‘parasitic hired thugs’. But joint forces should not be underestimated, and Changming couldn’t deal with many enemies alone.

They didn’t think highly of Changming at all. This person looked exhausted; it was obvious that he was injured at the first sight, and there was nothing great about his cultivation level. Let alone these four people, even one person would be enough to take him down.

Everyone’s eyes were on the staircase of the main Seven Star Platform’s building, glued to the young man with the Golden Glass Beads Staff, whose death was imminent. The four people attacked him together, but he was standing still, showing no resistance.

Those cultivators around them who came to enjoy watching the bustling scene were eager to know who had actually killed Bei Shu.

The leader wanted to distinguish himself and rushed forward in front of the others. He threw a long sword towards Changming’s neck from behind.

If everything went according to his plan, the sword would have sliced his neck, and the blood would have splattered over the whole place.

But it didn’t go as planned.

Changming who was within reach had suddenly disappeared!

That person opened his eyes wide and even forgot to withdraw his long sword, letting it fly away.

He thought there was a problem with his eyes. But everyone around him was surprised as well.

A moment later, Changming reappeared in front of him.

Others didn’t hesitate anymore and swung their swords at Changming.

He was ripped apart, and Changming’s body pieces floated to the ground.

But these people clearly saw that this cut into pieces man was actually made of paper!

“Lady Xu, I am afraid that if I die, your trip here will be in vain, and you will never find the thing you are looking for!”

The crowd raised their heads, following the voice, and saw Changming standing on a rooftop and shouting loudly.

Xu Jingxian who had mingled in the crowd was singled out, and her feelings became complicated for a moment.

She really wanted to see how Changming would handle this situation.

As she saw it, he could only die.

It would be fine if Changming died as Xu Jingxian didn’t care about it too much, but she did care about the Yangzhen Grass. He was certainly omitting some details, and could she really find it by herself? The situation in the Nine Layers of the Abyss was complicated and even plunged into crisis. No matter humans or demons, everyone had their own axe to grind. Even if she had a lot of techniques, four hands are still better than two fists, and it would be different if she had Changming.

But becoming the Seven Star Platform’s enemy…

In the blink of an eye, Xu Jingxian weighed the advantages and disadvantages of this decision, and finally sighed in sorrow. She floated into the air and landed near Changming.

Changming raised his eyes to her and joked: “The lady is loyal to her companions, aren’t we friends who go through difficult times together now!”

Who wants to go through difficult times together with you!

Xu Jingxian was looking down on the crowd, her heart full of disgust.

They were completely surrounded. Even if they were given wings, they wouldn’t have been able to fly away. Those cultivators who had come to the banquet were unrelated to the two of them, so there was no way they would offer a helping hand just because Xu Jingxian and Changming wanted to escape this crisis—

She started to regret her decision.

“Daoyou Zhang, I am Xu Jingxian, the master of Jianxue Clan’s Lingbo Peak. This person is my friend. He is injured and has no strength to kill a great master like Bei Shu. Please, Your Excellency, for my sake, wait for a bit without making judgements until the truth is revealed!”

Xu Jingxian deliberately didn’t lower her voice. She still had the imposing manner of a peak master.

It’s just that there was no use in mentioning the Jianxue Clan here at all.

Zhang Mu’s expression didn’t waver. He looked at them gloomily, stopped his eyes on Changming and raised his hands without saying a word.

Xu Jingxian thought, that is bad.

Sure enough, their opponent’s raised wrist suddenly lowered!

This was a command to attack.

Like bees pressing forward in swarms, the crowd rushed to them!

“You’re going to send me to an early grave!”

Xu Jingxian sighed. Even if she had the cultivation of a master, under the siege of so many people, she might not be able to get away without getting heavily injured herself, let alone rescuing Changming.

And getting wounded in a place like this was like becoming a helpless fat sheep that could lose its life any second.

Because of the Jianxue Clan’s habits of murdering, plundering, and taking people as furnaces, Xu Jingxian had a deep understanding of human nature.

“I’ll take care of Zhang Mu, you deal with the others!”

Changming moved suddenly. But instead of standing in front of her to help her deal with the cultivators around them, he passed those people and got close to Zhang Mu.

What was it if not following the path to his own doom?!

It was already too late for Xu Jingxian to stop him, and she started fighting the cultivators with her thin silk, helping Changming to distract them while he was taking care of Zhang Mu.

But she never thought that Changming would be able to kill Zhang Mu.

Frankly speaking, the Art of Control was just an unorthodox trick. It could only be used for ambushes, when your enemy was off guard. But if you faced a great master with a deep foundation and skills, this art must be supported with your own spiritual powers. But Changming had no spiritual powers, and his body was weak; he couldn’t maintain the Art of Control for a long time.

Zhang Mu’s long spear started to rotate, and its tip caught on raging red fire. The seething flames rushed at Changming.

Illusions of the Art of Control were completely useless against him. If Changming used this trick now to deceive him, it would be just showing off one’s proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban!

Showing off your proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban: showing off a slight talent before an expert. Lu Ban was a famous legendary craftsman of Confucius’s epoch, ‘the God of Carpenters’.

The tip of the burning spear almost reached Changming’s forehead!

But his blood didn’t splatter as expected, and Changming didn’t disappear, still standing there quietly and looking at Zhang Mu with a smile.

Zhang Mu immediately noticed that something went wrong. He turned around. His long spear cut through the air with great vigor, bursting and cracking, and the whole sky was full of flames!

Three!

Three Changmings were standing not far. They raised their hands in different manners and attacked him in various ways, stopping Zhang Mu’s assault and reversing his flames.

Zhang Mu was forced to leap to the side.

Which one was the real Changming?!

Zhang Mu’s opponent obviously had a low cultivation level, how could his skills be so unfathomable now?!

Right, the Golden Glass Beads Staff!

This thought dawned on Zhang Mu.

Bei Shu’s Golden Glass Beads Staff, also known as the Golden Beads Staff of the Three Powers, once was a treasured spiritual tool of the Qingyun School; later, Bei Shu stole it from there. The reason why he managed to arrive at Seven Star Rivers so fast and defeated so many enemies was partly because of this weapon’s assistance.

But, after all, it was a Buddhist treasure. A common person couldn’t just take it wherever they wanted and use it at will.

And this person was not only handling it with ease, he could even perform such complicated tricks.

Zhang Mu narrowed his eyes.

The Three Powers: heaven, earth, and man.

Three pearls merged into one, one pearl split into three.

The Heaven Pearl and the Earth Pearl complemented each other, and only the Human Pearl was a bit lacking strength.

The one that had the weakest rays, the one that was flickering vaguely…

It is you!

Zhang Mu showed a bloodthirsty smile and threw his long spear over!

The author has something to say:

A small theatre that has no connection to the main text:

Changming: Unexpectedly, a day when I am being deceived by my disciple came.

Zhou Keyi: The news is so thrilling that everyone is rejoicing and spreading the word. The Jianxue Clan is sending a congratulatory message.

Sun Buku: Amitabha, the evil has its retribution.

Amitabha: may the Buddha preserve us.

Song Nanyan: If you always walk at night, you are bound to meet a ghost.

Yun Weisi: Who is a ghost?