Wen RuoHan is defeated and Wei WuXian lies in the courtyard of the Fire Palace as if dead. The Healers can't detect his Golden Core because of the mass of resentful energy swirling through his dantians and meridians. In an effort to save his life, L...
A few sichens later, they were called to Sword Hall. Jin ZiXun's body lay upside down in a puddle on the floor in front of Jiang WanYin's throne. An elderly doctor knelt next to the body feeling around the skull. "Here," he announced. "You can feel where the skull has been depressed. And here," he motioned to another section. "You can see brain matter seeping out. He was hit from behind with a sword or a long knife or dagger, and either was knocked into the pond or was thrown into the pond where he drowned."
"A sword?" Jin GuangShan glared at Wei WuXian. "Hit from behind? Like a coward?"
Wei WuXian held out his empty hands. "I don't have a sword. Left it in the Cloud Recesses. Can't use it, you see. Resentful energy damaged my Core too much."
"As if you can't borrow someone else's sword?" Jin GuangYao scoffed.
"Allow me to demonstrate," Wei WuXian bowed. "May I borrow your sword?" Jin GuangYao looked suspicious, but unwrapped HenSheng from around his waist. Wei WuXian took it and tried his best to do a basic sword pattern. It was obvious to everyone in the room that he was incapable of performing at the strength needed to bash someone's skull open.
Lan WangJi unsheathed Bichen and strode over to the body. "I did not harm him." He shaved the back of the body's skull to show clearly that his blade did not cause the injury.
The bared skin now revealed an interesting wound pattern. "A straight blade could not have caused this injury," the elder stated. "The wound does not lie flat as it would if a blade like Bichen made it. It curves around the skull." Almost the entire room's eyes riveted onto Jin GuangYao's waist, where he was in the process of bending HenSheng to act as a belt. "Yes," the elder nodded. "A sword exactly like that could cause this wound pattern."
Lan XiChen held out his hand. "Your sword, A'Yao," he demanded.
Of course the blade was an exact match. Jin GuangYao held his head regally. "What else was I supposed to do? He was an embarrassment to the Sect. First, by using civilians as bait in a night hunt, then I found him destroying Nie ZongZhu's belongings!" The young man's face looked sad. "He was my cousin, and he was destroying our reputation. I had no choice." He turned pleading eyes at the Lan sect leader. "Er Ge... you believe me, right? He was deranged. Utterly mad. Cursing and spitting and claiming that he'd find the Yin Tiger Seal for my father and redeem his reputation. How can he find the Tiger Seal in Lotus Pier when everyone now knows it was lost in Qishan? How can he redeem himself by stealing from another Sect? How can he be redeeming himself by destroying other sect leader's possessions? I argued with him, begged him to kneel before everyone to confess his crimes. He struck me." Here Jin GuangYao pointed at a small bruise on his cheek. "I had no choice. I had to kill him before he hurt anyone else."
Wei WuXian wanted to laugh. Is anyone buying this? I'm an expert at spouting nonsense, and he's exceeding even my capabilities! Looking around the Hall, he saw that everyone appeared to know the smarmy man was lying. And yet... no one was calling for a trial or any sort of consequence. They're just going to allow it? Allow the claim that Jin ZiXun is the obviously guilty one. Completely ignore there's no way that either of them would do any of this without Jin GuangShan's permission or direct order?
Apparently, that was it. The body was wrapped and removed to Lanling for burial. Jin GuangShan placed a heavy hand on his son's shoulder and suggested Jin GuangYao might want to sit in meditation/seclusion for a week or two to cleanse his soul.
Jin GuangShan then announced the Phoenix Hunt would be placed on hold for three months so the family could properly mourn. But that everyone was still invited to attend once this short mourning period was over.
It won't do to mourn him for too long, huh? Not after everything he''s done for you? What a stupid man that Jin ZiXun was.... Why would he think I would just leave my Seal out for anyone to take? He must have been a complete idiot..... On the other hand, it might mean that the secret of where the Jiang vault is hidden is still a secret if he was searching rooms instead of the lakes. Not that he'd placed the Seal in the Jiang vaults. At fourteen and after being told where the Jiang vaults were and how to access them, even as a non-family member (what good was a blood lock if there was another vault which held thousands of vials of blood from every Jiang and all he needed to do was coat his hand with one vial, and he could enter?), he'd made his own little vault to secure his valuables: under the muck in the pond outside his room. No one else knew he'd built it. And it was blood locked only to him, so no one else would be able to enter even if they found it.
"Come back to Gusu with me," Lan WangJi asked quietly the following morning as everyone was preparing to leave.
"I'm needed here," Wei WuXian argued.
"Go to Gusu," Jiang YanLi begged. "Let them finish healing you, and then come home. We need you, yes. But we need you well, too."
Wei WuXian looked over his home. The burned buildings marred the peacefulness and serenity Lotus Pier usually exuded. "I'm of more use here," he protested.
"No, you're not." Jiang WanYin folded his arms over, trying to look more adult and important. "We don't need a Head Disciple who can't cultivate. Go to Gusu. Let them finish fixing you up. Then come home. And do it quick or I'll break your legs next time I'm up there."
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Dear readers.
A short chapter today. But the next section gets heavier and has nothing to do with Jin ZiXun's death... so....
Not gonna lie... It was very satisfying to write of this murder.
Happy Halloween and happy birthday to our favorite character Wei WuXian.
