Chapter 321 : Sheep Turned Predator (5)
Not just the Cloud Treading Peak disciples, even the disciples of the Qing Yun Clan's Outer House would be spared. Those disciples did not really belong to the Qing Yun Clan and there was no need to hurt the innocent.
"Fan emotions?" Mu Chen was puzzled.
Jun Wu Xie explained: "During this period, Ke Cang Ju had prominently flaunted the authority that Qin Yue had given him and offended all the other Elders of the Qing Yun Clan completely. Qin Yue had shielded Ke Cang Ju's actions tightly and the other Elders are feeling very edgy. If the son of the last Sovereign stood forward at this moment, I believe the other Elders would jump at the chance to rally behind you to drive the Qing Yun Clan in chaos. By that time, Qin Yue's time in the Qin Yun Clan would be up."
"How are you going to do it?" Mu Chen grew more and more shocked the more he heard. He realised that the turmoil that had been brewing within the Qing Yun Clan had been stirred up by these three youths singlehandedly. And if he was not wrong, the one making the decisions among the trio, should be Jun Xie, the youngest one among them!
He was able to pull off a plot on such a big scale at such a young age. Mu Chen could not imagine what kind of environment Jun Xie had grown up in.
And he wondered how mighty the Jun Family was that they dared take on the topmost clan across the lands, the Qing Yun Clan!
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Jun Wu Xie waved her hand tiredly. She really wasn't too good at explaining things in detail.
Seeing that Jun Xie was refusing to say more, Mu Chen stopped himself from probing anymore.
"After the Qing Yun Clan is obliterated, it would cease to exist. If you do not have any pressing business or anywhere else to go, you can go to the Lin Palace in the Kingdom of Qi." Jun Wu Xie gave it a thought, and decided to provide Mu Chen with a good alternative after everything. She believed that Mu Chen would have no intention to stay on in the Qing Yun Clan, that had turned rotten to the core under Qin Yue's hands.
Mu Chen might still be young, but he possessed respectable skills and knowledge in the nurturing and development of veins and arteries. And no matter how highly skilled Jun Wu Xie was in Medicine, she could not split herself. To sufficiently sustain the medical needs of the hundred thousand strong Rui Lin Army, needed more than the strength of a lone Jun Wu Xie.
If she could enlist the help of Mu Chen and his disciples, the Rui Lin Army will rise up faster!
Jun Wu Xie did not only plan to just make herself stronger, but to strengthen every single person in the Rui Lin Army as well. Only when the Jun Family held more chips within their hands, can she ensure her grandfather and uncle to live a life of leisure without any worries.
Mu Chen stared at Jun Wu Xie and he remained silent for a moment. "If you help me to kill Qin Yue, I will bring my people to the Lin Palace and reside there for three years. Within those three years, I will exhaust all that I hold in repayment for what I will owe you."
Jun Xie had killed Ke Cang Ju, and if he were to kill Qin Yue as well, Mu Chen vengeance would be exacted. He did not want to owe Jun Xie that debt of gratitude and had decided he would repay him with his skills in medicine.
"That is a deal." Jun Wu Xie nodded, in satisfaction, not minding the fact that Mu Chen saw through her underlying intentions.
Intelligent people knew what they should do without having to prod them.
The discussion on their secret cooperation was finished, but Mu Chen was hesitant to leave just like that. He turned to Jun Wu Xie and said: "The news that I came storming into the Hidden Cloud Peak must have spread to the ears of the other Elders. I cannot walk out of here just like that."
Jun Wu Xie produced an elixir within her hands and threw it to Mu Chen.
"Swallow it."
Mu Chen swallowed the elixir without hesitation and stepped out to bring his unconscious disciple back.
"What did you give him?" Qiao Chu stared after Mu Chen as he left, his curiosity highly piqued as he bugged Jun Wu Xie.
"Mu Chen and Ke Cang Ju were opposing enemies for a long time. Ke Cang Ju would not allow Mu Chen to bring his disciple back so easily. Hence..... he would have to pay a certain price." Jun Wu Xie lowered her eyes. They needed to put on an act, and a complete act is required. Mu Chen would be a good ally, and he was smarter than Mo Qian Yuan.
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Chapter 322 : Reeling In The Net (1)
Soon, a piece of news spreaded within the Qing Yun Clan. Ke Cang Ju had gone to the Cloud Treading Peak and forcibly snatched a disciple. The Elder of the Cloud Treading Peak, Mu Chen, had then stormed into the Hidden Cloud Peak alone to save his disciple. Mu Chen had suddenly fell ill after he returned and his high fever had not subsided. Even Qin Yue had provided treatment but Mu Chen was still bedridden after three days, and was still in bad shape.
Falling into such a state after returning from the Hidden Cloud Peak. It was deemed to be obvious by the other Elders that Ke Cang Ju's proficient use of poison must have been the cause. Mu Chen and Ke Cang Ju had been bitter enemies for a long time and for Ke Cang Ju to allow Mu Chen to retrieve his disciple back to the Cloud Treading Peak, Mu Chen must have suffered under Ke Cang Ju's deliberate spitefulness and had poisoned Mu Chen, bringing about the sudden illness!
The other Elders had still been puzzled by how Mu Chen had managed to bring his disciple back before and the reason could not be any clearer now!
And the news brought the other Elders' fear and hatred for Ke Cang Ju to new heights!
No matter how much hatred Ke Cang Ju held for Mu Chen, Mu Chen was still an Elder of the Qing Yun Clan after all, a respectable position they both held. But Ke Cang Ju had just gone ahead and poisoned Mu Chen without hesitation, showing scant regard for the revered status of being an Elder of the Qing Yun Clan!
Even the Elders that had held no enmity towards Ke Cang Ju soon started to feel threatened by his tyranny.
Mu Chen had been poisoned by Ke Cang Ju openly, and the other Elders started to feel threatened of their own safety. Ke Cang Ju had already dared to take their disciples from them, what more atrocities would he do?
The Elders thought back on the chaos and fear that had spread before, the depressed and disappointed eyes their own disciples had shown them and their hatred for Ke Cang Ju started to brew and bubble.
An Elder had gone to the Cloud Treading Peak, bearing tonics as a gift, his face sorrowful in concern, on the pretense of paying a visit on the ill Mu Chen, but was actually there to find out what kind of torment Ke Cang Ju had put Mu Chen under.
Mu Chen had put on a pitiful face of helplessness and said weakly: "Ke Cang Ju holds the Sovereign's trust strongly, while I am only an Elder in name with no authority. When he decides he wants to snatch my disciple from me, or anything else that he wants to do against me, there is nothing I can do but to tolerate and suffer under his oppression. The Sovereign himself stands behind Ke Cang Ju, what else can I do? Await death to claim me I suppose."
Mu Chen's defeated words made the other Elder's heart wince, and told of the hopelessness of the situation.
At the same time, that brought up another question. The Elder suffering under the oppression this time was Mu Chen. But if Ke Cang Ju were to turn his eyes in their direction, they would obviously share the same fate.
By that time, must they be forced to swallow the oppression and be as helpless, falling prey to Ke Cang Ju's tyranny without a word of protest?
NO!
That cannot happen!
Alarm spread among the other Elders and the bells rang loudly. The Elders who had managed to calm the disciples regarding the previous incident started to feel the dangers looming.
Mu Chen's sorry plight relit the flame that threw chaos once again into the recently appeased few days of calm. The situation this time was more intense and spread greater fear into the people.
Qin Yue started to feel the heat and grew jittery. He sent people to the Hidden Cloud Peak to bring a message to "Ke Cang Ju", telling him to stop and desist with the atrocities, and not to stir up any more turmoil.
The person who impersonated Ke Cang Ju disregarded the warning, tossing it into the wind.
Within two days from then, high upon the gates leading into the various peaks, a pair of rotted corpses were hung. Those bodies, were the bodies of the very same disciples taken away from the respective peaks by "Ke Cang Ju" and brought back to the Hidden Cloud Peak.
In hours, the bubbling pot of chaos within the Qing Yun Clan blew up!
When the Elders saw the ravaged and gory bodies, their faces turned white!
"Ke Cang Ju, you bastard! I..... will not take this lying down!" The curses chorused throughout the various peaks at the same time!
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Chapter 323 : Reeling In The Net (2)
Within the Hidden Cloud Peak, Qiao Chu sat comfortably on the chair, his legs propped up nonchalantly. He looked at Jun Xie, who was stroking the little black cat's fur, his eyes sparkling in amusement. "Little Xie, that was just too wicked. You would actually return those bodies back to their peaks. Once their Elders see them, they will surely be hopping mad!"
Their disciples were forcibly taken from them, and in a just a few days, those disciples taken from them turned up dead and were thrown at the foot of their respective peaks. What made matters really intolerable was, the bodies each carried a letter from "Ke Cang Ju".
In the letter, only a few simple words were written. 'Your disciples have been rightfully returned. I'll be back for more!'
Those few words were downright arrogant and its message utterly despicable. The other Elders could not possibly remain calm after that, as even Qiao Chu had almost wanted to bash Jun Xie up when he read the letter's contents!
That was just too much for anyone to take! The bodies of their disciples were already ravaged to such a pathetic state and Jun Xie had the cheek to claim they were "rightfully returned", and he'll be back!!? ..... Those words might just kill the Elders where they stood when they read the letter!
"Those people deserve everything we did to them." Jun Wu Xie said softly. Besides the Cloud Treading Peak, the whole of the Inner House of the Qing Yun Clan's disciples had been led to commit many atrocities under the rotted leadership from the top. The vanished villages, the missing villagers, were due to the actions of all those disciples. It was sickening to know from the boasts and revelations from the disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak that all the females in the villages had suffered unspeakable horrors under the hands of the disciples as well while they carried out their mission, such was the cruelty of the disciples of the Qing Yun Clan.
Not many things could stir up joy or hatred in Jun Wu Xie in her past life, but one thing that she absolutely abhorred and despised, was the humiliation of the womenfolk.
Even when she was with the organisation, if any of their members were known to have committed such travesty, she would refuse to treat and save them even if the orders had come from the very top. She would just watch coldly as those people suffer in agony as they fell victim to the inescapable death that would come without her treatment.
The knowledge of it, only steeled Jun Wu Xie's resolve further.
If the Heavens could not deliver the punishment due, she would gladly lend a hand!
"Heh heh, I am guessing, the time is nearing, that those Elders will go charging to the Sovereign and kick up a big fuss. And at that time, it will be time for us to reel in our nets." Qiao Chu said, rubbing his hands in glee. It was both thrilling and exciting to be carrying out Jun Xie's ploys. It was hard to imagine that the petite youth before them, who rarely spoke much, would be so meticulous and efficient when carrying out missions like this.
He would really love to open up Jun Xie's head, and see what's really inside.
"Have the items been placed and set up?" Hua Yao asked from one side. He wasn't as unconcerned as Qiao Chu was. He knew the severity of the situation. If they failed to wipe out the enemy in one go, they would in turn be the ones who would die here.
"I had it all set up much earlier. Any task that Little Xie hands down to me, would be carried out to the letter." Qiao Chu guffawed, thumping his chest confidently.
"Within three days, the Elders will make their move. Get Mu Chen prepared. I do not want any untoward incidents." Jun Wu Xie said as she raised her head. After almost a month's preparation, it was time to pull in the net.
She would make the Qing Yun Clan, pay for all their sins.
After being away for so long, she felt a tinge of homesickness.
Grandfather, Uncle..... Jun Wu Yao.....
It was time to go home.
When the things here are all settled, she would make a trip back to the Lin Palace, before she would leave again to cultivate the elixir that Qiao Chu and Hua Yao wanted.
"Alright. I'll go to the Cloud Treading Peak tonight. I do not dare to step in there in the day as the disciples of the Cloud Treading Peak are currently dead against having any Hidden Cloud Peak disciples step into their territory." Qiao Chu explained, scratching his head. Jun Xie's and Mu Chen's alliance was known only to the four of them. The disciples of the Cloud Treading Peak still thought that their Elder had suffered injustice in the Hidden Cloud Peak, and when they saw any Hidden Cloud Peak disciples, their faces turn to rage and they pounced on the Hidden Cloud Peak disciples without hesitation!
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Chapter 324 : Reeling In The Net (3)
What frustrated Qiao Chu further was that if the disciples from the Cloud Treading Peak had attacked him, he could not retaliate! As Mu Chen's protective nature over his disciples would bring Mu Chen come asking for his head!
All the pieces were already set in place. They only had to wait for the storm to hit.
The moment finally arrived. Two days later, the edgy Elders could not contain themselves any further and had grouped and gathered themselves together to go up the Blue Cloud Peak, to fight for the injustice done upon their disciples.
They had been slapped across their faces and if they continued to swallow their pride and did not react, they would lose their positions as Elders in the eyes of their disciples of the various peaks.
All the other Elders moved together, and even the not fully recovered Mu Chen was dragged along. The lone exclusion was their target "Ke Cang Ju".
Qin Yue was sitting in the main hall of the Blue Cloud Peak, and a splitting headache wrecked at him.
He had eleven Elders under him, and except for the recently deceased Jiang Chen Qing and the culprit, Ke Cang Ju, who was wholly responsible for giving him this headache, all of them were presently here right before him!
The nine Elders sat on two sides of the hall, all their faces dark and gloomy.
Cai Zhuo, who was the oldest among them, and who commanded the highest respect, was the first to speak, his face face and he stood up unsteadily.
"My Sovereign, what is Ke Cang Ju up to? He claimed to be acting under your orders to loan a few disciples from the respective peaks to bring back to the Hidden Cloud Peak. We reluctantly agreed as it was after all your idea. But, what did he do after that!? The disciples that he had brought back with him have now turned up dead! Their badly ravaged bodies were even disposed of right before the gates of the various peaks!"
Cai Zhuo sighed heavily and his voice sounded all choked up as he said: "Those disciples were lovingly and painstakingly nurtured by our own hands! But they had been turned into specimens of inhumane torture so cruelly by Ke Cang Ju! Those bodies which had belonged to our beloved and dearly missed disciples were then carelessly thrown before our gates and they were so badly ravaged that not a single one of them was whole! Those were disciples carefully picked and rightfully admitted into the Qing Yun Clan! How could they be allowed to fall prey to cold blooded murder like this, and at the hands of an Elder of our very own Qing Yun Clan yet! Would this incident not chill the loyal hearts of our innocent disciples? What drove the final nail into the already bleeding hearts of our disciples? The audacity that Ke Cang Ju actually left a letter on those poor cold lifeless bodies disposed stating that our disciples had been rightfully returned, and he'll be back again! Sovereign! How could such treachery and atrocities be allowed to happen within our sanctimonious Cloudy Peaks under your glorious leadership!?"
Qin Yue held his head in his hands, his temples were being hammered. Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine that Ke Cang Ju would carry things this far.
It was no wonder the other Elders could gather themselves and stood together on this. The actions of Ke Cang Ju's were intolerable even in Qin Yue's mind.
Qin Yue knew Ke Cang Ju would kill those disciples. But killing them off and disposing the bodies right before the other Elders was too much and a big slap across their faces!
When Ke Cang Ju had merely taken the disciples, he was able to persuade and gradually appease the Elders that those disciples were in the Hidden Cloud Peak just to provide some assistance and would not be in any danger. Even if they were to die in the end, as long as the bodies cannot be found, they would not have any proof of the murder.
But Ke Cang Ju had done it this time!
He must have felt that life in the Qing Yun Clan was too peaceful!
He actually dared go up to each Elder and slap them across their faces!
This time, even Qin Yue did not know how to shield Ke Cang Ju. The situation before him was getting beyond his control as all the Elders were obviously burning up in rage. Their egos and standings in the Qing Yun Clan have been pricked and challenged and they would not back down so easily this time!
"In regards to this matter, I will ensure you men will get a satisfactory answer. Go! Fetch me Elder Ke!" Qin Yue realised that if he continued to shield Ke Cang Ju further on this matter, the other Elders would begin to hold thoughts of rebellion in their hearts. He would just summon Ke Cang Ju here, and let him answer for his own actions, himself!
After a while, the disciples who were sent to the Hidden Cloud Peak brought Ke Cang Ju.
And following behind Ke Cang Ju himself, were two young disciples. The three figures stood defiantly just outside the Qing Yun Clan's main hall!
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Chapter 325 : Storm Clouds Loom (1)
Without any signs of guilt or fear, "Ke Cang Ju" brought his disciples and appeared before the main hall.
One glance at them was all it took to make the other Elders almost jump up in anger. If it was not for Qin Yue's presence, they might have all charged at Ke Cang Ju and skinned him alive.
"Elder Ke, there is something we need to discuss today. Dismiss your disciples from here." Qin Yue said, after clearing his throat. He thought that Ke Cang Ju was getting more and more overboard with his actions. Why would he bring disciples to a meeting between the Sovereign and the Elders?
"Ke Cang Ju" replied offhandedly: "There is nothing they cannot hear, and since the Sovereign asked for my presence, here I am. As to whether I bring my disciples, that should not bother our Sovereign."
With his arrogant reply, the faces of the other Elders turned a shade of purple and even Qin Yue was visibly angered.
"Ke Cang Ju" had brushed off Qin Yue's command before everyone and his tone had been highly arrogant, showing total disregard for Qin Yue's position and authority.
Qin Yue's face grew dark and if not for the evidence of wrongdoing held in "Ke Cang Ju's" hands, Qin Yue would have exploded there and then.
Qin Yue was forced to hold his anger down and proceed as though nothing is wrong.
"Elder Ke, do you know why I have summoned you here today?" Qin Yue made an effort to speak in an even tone.
"I know." Hua Yao replied as he waved his hand dismissively and brought Jun Xie and Qiao Chu in while he sat down on a seat on one side, ignoring the fiery stares that the other Elders were throwing at him.
"If you know what this is all about, should you not give an answer to the accusations thrown at you today?" Qin Yue asked carefully. The chaos that rocked the Qin Yun Clan recently reached a level never seen before. Not only the Elders, but even the disciples of the Inner House were fearful and anxious. Qin Yue had not expected things to reach such a level of unease and if he had known, he would not have agreed to Ke Cang Ju request.
But it was too late to renege.
"Answer? What answer?" Hua Yao asked frowning. His stance defiant and conceited.
The corner of Qin Yue's mouth twitched, and the faces of the other Elders were angry and filled with hatred.
Cai Zhuo could not hold back and said: "Ke Cang Ju, as the saying goes, our actions must never go past the line, and when we meet we'll still get along fine! But you killed the disciples taken from our various peaks, you will not leave without giving us a satisfactory reply today!"
Hua Yao stared at the aggressive Cai Zhuo and smirked. He raised his hand and pointed at Jun Xie who was sitting beside him and said to the rest: "You need me to answer for such a small matter? My disciple here will let you know what I have to say about it." He laid back onto the chair after that, seemingly refusing to say anymore.
That infuriated the other Elders!
They came here to settle scores with "Ke Cang Ju", but he simply pushed his disciple to the front to answer for him. What did that mean? His disinterest and nonchalant attitude was the absolute worst!
Pushing a mere disciple forward to speak to the various Elders? What a joke! That was just pure disrespect! How could a lowly disciple answer or even discuss on an even level with the Elders!?
Jun Wu Xie was pushed into the limelight as she sat within the main hall, facing the unfriendly stares from all directions. She was nevertheless decidedly calm and her clear cold voice rang out within the hall.
"The various Elders want an answer, and an answer is what I would give. Elder Ke had acted under orders and every action he took was approved by the Sovereign. Moreover, Elder Ke's actions were not for his own benefit, but was for the revenge of the Eldest Miss and Elder Jiang." Jun Wu Xie said slowly.
Qin Yue who sat grandly behind the seat of power grew more and more shocked as Jun Wu Xie spoke. His eyes stared in disbelief at the small figure who was seated beside "Ke Cang Ju", who had spoken with a straight face, frankly and clearly.
That kid! Did he know what he was saying!?