Chapter 197 — True Wrath

Su Wan's tone shifted, and she cut him off as sharply as a blade: "But if something has indeed happened to Buhui on this Jietian Peak, Senior Brother Yang—" Her clear, bright eyes flashed with a gleam of piercing light, and the words she spoke carried all the fervor and resolve surging in her heart, leaving no room for wavering or turning back:

"Then beneath the two-thousand-year history of the Canglan Sect, there shall be one unworthy disciple, Su Wan, who, for the sake of the one her heart has clung to all her life, will stand upon this Jietian Peak of Canglan Mountain and demand an accounting from the past generations of masters—and from that most esteemed Senior Brother Sect Master!"

With a sharp cry, she swept her hand down like a blade, splitting the air, and the dark-green sword light blazed forth in an instant. A shrill whistling tore upward through the sky, followed by a muffled thud and a swirl of flying dust. Everyone felt the ground tremble faintly beneath their feet, as though from an earthquake. When the dust settled somewhat, they saw that the dark-green immortal sword in Su Wan's hand had been driven, sheath and all, into the exceedingly hard stone slabs at the center of the Yuheng Hall's great chamber—and around the point of entry, there was not the slightest crack or fissure.

In the unseen depths, that dark-green immortal sword planted in the ground, though it had left Su Wan's palm, seemed only to blaze more fiercely, and like a savage beast licking blood from its jaws, it gave another low, growling hum.

Senior Brother Yang looked at the dark-green immortal sword planted before himself and Su Wan, gave a bitter laugh, and said, "Junior Sister Su, this—this has not yet come to that pass, has it? Why have you brought out Mo Xue, sealed away for over a hundred years?"

Su Wan said coldly, "Senior Brother Yang, you know as well as I do that Buhui was the one who had me seal this Mo Xue away back then. Because he was here, I sealed it, and I did not mind. But if something has happened to him, then I shall use this Mo Xue to seek an explanation from the Senior Brother Sect Master himself."

Elder Yang shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "You and I both thought that after all the years of marriage to Junior Brother Tian, you would surely have tempered that temper of yours. Well, well—I cannot talk you out of it in any case. Let us go and sit down together and wait for Xiao Yichen to bring the Sect Master here."

Su Wan's face showed no expression, but she gave a cold hum, and slowly walked with Elder Yang to one side and sat down.

The atmosphere in the Yuheng Hall gradually eased. Elder Yang lowered his voice there, speaking softly to Su Wan about something—no doubt still trying to comfort her and urge her not to be overly anxious. The other elders either stood behind Elder Yang or had likewise taken seats. Only Elder Fan shuffled slowly over to one side of the great door of the Yuheng Hall, keeping far away from Su Wan.

As for the other young disciples, their status was insufficient, and after Su Wan's display of fury, each stood farther off than the last. Among the elders of Jietian Peak, Elder Fan was ordinarily the most easygoing in temperament, a man of considerable humor and wit. Though in cultivation he inevitably lagged behind these senior elders, among the young disciples he was by far the most popular; whether they were his own students or other juniors, all were close to him.

At this moment, seeing Elder Fan standing alone to one side, many of the younger disciples quietly drifted over toward him—among them not a few who had just been flung in by Su Wan and who were also Elder Fan's own students.

Elder Fan looked at those few disciples and shook his head. One young disciple beside him could not resist asking in a low voice, "Master, why—why is that Senior Aunt Su so fierce? She always seems so gentle in daily life. How is it that when she turns fierce, she is this terrifying?"

The white-bearded Elder Fan shot the disciple a look, gave a "heh," blew at the beard beneath his chin, and said, "How long have you lot been in the Canglan Sect? What would you know? When that woman was in her fiery days, there was nothing she would not dare to do!"

The young disciples gradually gathered around, each listening attentively. Someone said softly, "Ah, you would never guess. Senior Aunt Su is so beautiful now—she must have been a peerless beauty in her day, surely?"

Elder Fan chuckled, and stole a glance toward Su Wan and Elder Yang. Seeing that they were deep in conversation and clearly paying no attention to the young disciples, he grew bold and said, "Speaking of it, in her time she was the most renowned of the female disciples of our Canglan Sect's generation—like, ah," he nodded, and a mysterious smile suddenly appeared on his face. Lowering his voice, he said, "Like that Lu Xueling of Xiaozhu Peak today."

The disciples around him let out a collective "Ah!"—each wearing a look of sudden enlightenment, nodding vigorously to show that they had grasped Elder Fan's meaning.

Elder Fan, finding every voice echoing his own, could not help but feel rather pleased with himself. "Actually, when you get down to it, though her cultivation was good, there were others stronger than her—like Senior Brother Daoyan and Senior Brother Wan. Those two were rare geniuses the likes of which appear once in a thousand years, so of course they surpassed her. But everyone saw that she was young and beautiful, and on top of that she had Master Zhenyu as her backing, so no one dared provoke her, and that is why she dared stir up trouble wherever she went. I still remember—back then she alone turned the Canglan Sect upside down. And then there was that tigress Shuiyue, every bit as fierce as her—er, you brat, why do you keep hitting me? Behave yourself, I have not finished yet."

Elder Fan, full of zest, continued, "That Shuiyue back then—hmm, why are you all making those faces? Oh, I see, you do not know who I am talking about? Heh heh, it is actually that Master Shuijing of Xiaozhu Peak today. She was Su Wan's senior sister, and in those days her fierce temper was every bit the match of Su Wan's—famous throughout our Canglan Sect. Hey, you brat, why do you keep pulling at me? I tell you, no matter what, I am still your master—show some manners—eh, where was I just now?"

"Hmm, now I remember—I was talking about Shuiyue. That Su Wan, fierce as she was back then and willing to do anything, seemed to become a different person entirely after she married Tian Buhui of Dazhu Peak—just the way you have all seen her in recent days. We old fellows actually found it quite strange, but it was a good thing, after all. But as for that Shuiyue—she has not changed one bit. As fierce as she was then, she is just as fierce now. Even the disciples she trained—take that Lu Xueling you all like so much—she is practically identical to what Shuiyue was back then—good heavens!"

Elder Fan whipped around and said angrily, "You brat, why do you keep pulling at me? It has been a long time since you got a beating—feeling itchy, are you?"

His voice broke off abruptly. His mouth fell slightly open. A ring of young disciples stood with heads bowed to one side, not daring to make a sound, not daring to move. Beyond the great door of the Yuheng Hall, Master Shuijing stood with a face of utter indifference, watching Elder Fan coldly. Beside her, Wen Pei was also gazing at Elder Fan, but with a face full of anger.

In an instant Elder Fan's forehead was drenched in sweat, his old face flushed crimson. He stepped back a few paces, utterly mortified, smiling bitterly without end. Master Shuijing walked slowly in, yet did not glance at Elder Fan again. Wen Pei, however, was clearly unwilling to let it go, and glared at him several times.