The elders left one by one without noticing anything wrong. They were all kept in the dark.
He You and Si Yan lingered the longest, and after casting one glance at me each, they exited the Shangqing Hall.
The silence is as quiet as a falling needle, with a hint of oppressive atmosphere.
Not until everyone outside the hall had disappeared did Han Jin lift his head slowly again.
He did not speak, but he stared at me deeply, as if to dissect the deepest secrets of my innermost thoughts.
I faced him fearlessly, staring at him quietly.
After a long time, Han Jin's eyes flickered with a very complex emotion.
It seemed... melancholic?
"The four regulations on the Mountain of Regulations have greatly deteriorated. If it were in the past, they would not have accepted for me to sit here. Non-iteration problems haven't caused them to forget anything, so Han Xiazi's talent and strength are acceptable, but he hasn't stayed on the main mountain; instead, he has been a supervising elder in Jin Yang for years and has not been visited by anyone. Moreover, they will send a disciple of an observatory master and even plan to replace that person."
"It was a form of trial for that person back then, and for my Han lineage, it was a further eradication."
I immediately understood what Han Jin was referring to, it was about Sun Zhuo!
It seems that Han Qū has revealed everything, including things more detailed than I thought, to me in full.
"Fortunately, that person, that external malefactor, did not get what they wanted. You have made an indelible contribution."
Han Jin nodded slightly, which was an acknowledgement of me.
"It is a family feud, and it is also about defending the sect." I replied.
"That's a good one, defending the sect!" Han Jin emphasized his tone, and the sorrow in his eyes intensified even more!
I know that what he said was just to tell me one thing, the Mountain of Regulations was extremely tough towards his lineage.
This is a contrast, a sect that is so stringent yet allows the head of the culprit to sit here. It represents that the sect has fallen into decline.
What makes him sorrowful is not the result suffered by the Han family, but the weakening of the sect itself!
"If I hadn't been cowardly back then, perhaps I could have died, and there would still be many people left. It was my retreat that allowed so many Bai family disciples to die in that place, ultimately for Guan Master to barely survive, barely alive, while I was unharmed."
"Thereafter, when we returned to the sect, Master Fu Zhong ended his life in depression. Before his death, he still protected me, saying 'who is not a sage or a virtuous person, who can never make mistakes?'"
"After his death, I felt the coldness of the sect."
"How unfamiliar it was, and how tormented I was?"
"If on that day, the parents of the Wuling line or others were still alive, perhaps I wouldn't have been so painful, and the sect wouldn't have been so ruthless."
"I, a sinner, should not live on, so I chose to disintegrate."
"It's absurd, but even so, I dare not die. Self-destruction is both death and life. I'm making amends and escaping."
I did not open my mouth to interrupt Han Jin.
He, while recounting, was also expressing the inner agony.
Perhaps, from his mouth, I could know what White and Han had experienced in the past.
At least for now, I've understood something: Han Jin's retreat at a crucial moment led to the death of the White family members.
Why did he, who was already a true person, fear and retreat?
What kind of dangerous land did they get into?
"But, escaping is meaningless. I woke up eventually. I was tormented every day, constantly angry with myself for what I did in the past. Whenever I saw the ancestral hall's altars and the names of the White family members, thinking of their contributions to the Mountain of Regulations throughout generations, my anger grew even stronger, until my corpse bugs oozed out."
"But anger finally turned into coldness."
"Is it any use? No matter how angry I am, nothing can be changed. And I dare not die. So, I might as well wait. I plan to go back to the sect on the day of my old age."
"Yes, the previous patriarch, or rather, it should be two patriarchs, the Mountain of Regulations discovered my existence. He was still good, he wanted to invite me out. I wouldn't come out. I told him that I would only appear with the patriarch's token and Four Regulations Mirror. I would take action for the Mountain of Regulations."
Han Jin lightly tapped the armrest of the chair, closing his eyes.
"La Qū has spoken much, and you two have experienced a lot together. I find it hard to imagine that the Mountain of Regulations is facing such a predicament. First, there was an external malefactor, Sun Zhuo, who coveted our sect, followed by the White family's remaining bloodline going astray. I believe La Qū doesn't know everything; without knowing the full picture, one should not comment. But the way you and the current He You Tian have acted makes me feel that only you two are the clear-minded ones in the sect. Do you know more, or are you just standing aside? The elders, on the other hand, are all kept in the dark."
"Then tell me, what are the most unforgivable aspects of the Wu Bing family?"
"Maybe it's something that Han Qū doesn't know."
Throughout this exchange, Han Jin still did not open his eyes.
"After the Tiansheng Sage was killed by Master Lei Ping, my Yang Shen Gui in the body wanted to make amends for the misunderstanding with the Mountain of Regulations. Someone was sent to bring him to the Mountain of Regulations. Wu Bing took his head. He removed the old master's life force from Sun Zhuo's body and strengthened it with a magic crystal that nourishes life."
"Residual soul or residual fate might be stripped from the Tiansheng head, and Uncle Master knows that Tiansheng eats people?"
"Wu Ling did not gain all this by himself. On the surface, he was a disciple of Mao You San, but he betrayed him. However, in reality, there was someone behind him. Perhaps from the beginning to the end, he was a pawn, used to calculate Mao You San, and more likely used to come into contact with the True Ancestor's body of the Mountain of Regulations."
"Because Mao You San told me that he needed the bodies of eight true people, to do something great."
"And the person behind Wu Bing also wants it, and they are stripping away the life force from the bodies, stripping away everything."
"If I can't stop Wu Ling, the Mountain of Regulations will be emptied."
"I don't know what they want to do."
"I only know that the Mountain of Regulations is my home, and anyone who dares to taint it will have to pass me first."
"And besides, I am still a Taoist, and it is my duty to act on behalf of heaven."
I didn't elaborate on too many details, focusing on the most crucial points and the information I just learned. This is definitely an insider secret that Han Qū doesn't know.
Han Jin's fingers gently tapped the armrest, and he nodded slightly.
"The White family's line cannot be extinguished. I agree with what you said about Taoism, but that doesn't mean I think we should kill Wu Ling. He should return to the mountain." Han Jin's tone is calm.
My face turned slightly pale, and I stared at him fiercely.
"You want me to take you to find him." Han Jin finally opened his eyes, his gaze and tone leaving no doubt.
"Are you joking?"
My eyes narrowed slightly.
It's not that I'm arrogant and proud because I feel like I've had an enlightenment and my strength has increased.
I don't intend to disrespect Han Jin, he is a senior member of the sect.
He asked me so many questions and said so much, I thought he would do something to rectify the situation, but I never expected that after asking all those questions and agreeing with me, he still said that Wu Ling shouldn't die and the White family shouldn't be extinguished?
