Record of the Missing Sect Master

Chapter 66

Manor Lord Wei practically couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you say?”

The tea in front of Wei Jiangyue had long gone cold. He hadn’t drank even a sip since he’d poured it.

He felt as if the myriad emotions in his heart were just like the tea leaves, slowly sinking beneath the surface. He looked at his respected father, who had been proud of him countless times before, and resolutely asked a second time, “Are you the white piece?”

“How could I possibly be the white piece?” Manor Lord Wei was in even more disbelief. “Who told you this? Was it Xiao-Heng or Ah-Xiao?”

Wei Jiangyue had already thought of a pretext and shook his head, saying, “It’s not them. It’s that everyone knows that the white piece is a person of virtue and prestige, and that he’s right in the midst of these people.”

Manor Lord Wei was about to be angered into laughter. “So you started suspecting me?”

“I also don’t want to suspect you.” Since he had asked that first question, Wei Jiangyue felt as if his spirit had separated from his body. His body was numb and cold, yet his spirit continued to push him to move forward.

He heard himself say, extremely calmly, “But you had the opportunity to obtain the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, you were also the one who forced Blood-sucking Ghost off the cliff at the time, and you even have the strength to get involved with Bodhi Prison… Let’s not rush into talking about all this. I know that those other elders also have the means to do these things. First, wait for me to finish.”

The room did not have any lanterns lit, and there was only a small, faint beam of light slanting in through the window lattices. It was dim and quiet, and even the emotions that felt as if they were filling out all the empty spaces seemed able to be suppressed here and now.

Manor Lord Wei looked at him underneath the moonlight and nodded before then going to light a lantern.

The room instantly brightened, and Wei Jiangyue was able to see his father’s face even more clearly.

He thought of all the little details from those past events, and his gaze slightly faltered, though he quickly pressed down that sliver of struggle and continued with, “Yesterday morning, I went to find Sir Xiao and heard him say that the white piece would perhaps surround the mountain. At that time, I wanted to tell you.”

Manor Lord Wei rebuked with, “You should have told me. What would you have done if something really happened?”

“If I told you, you definitely wouldn’t have agreed,” Wei Jiangyue answered, very simply, and then resumed his speech, “Sir Xiao’s martial skill is gone, and so he has no means of self-defense. I thus exchanged identities with him. Wenren Heng also gave me three concealed weapons and thought up a good way for me to retreat so that nothing would happen to me. But this matter was too big, and at the time, I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to succeed only by relying on ourselves. But they said that they weren’t sure who the white piece was, so they had to keep this between themselves. I thought that if there were no longer any suspicions on you, then in the future, if something else happens, I can discuss it with you. So upon confronting Ghost Gentleman, I purposely probed him with a few words.”

Manor Lord Wei asked, “What did you probe with?”

“According to the original plan, I should’ve used Sir Xiao as an excuse to lure them to a previously agreed upon place, and we’d capture them when they took the bait. But I changed a few words on the spot and told him that it was you who said that Sir Xiao was at the small county town.” Wei Jiangyue looked at him. “Father, can you tell me, at a time when things had already turned hostile between our two parties, and Ghost Gentleman already knew the issue with my identity, why he didn’t capture me and use me to threaten all of you? Why did he believe me right after I spoke? And why didn’t he injure me at all? Even easily letting me go?”