Chapter 234: What if We Count It as Redeeming Oneself Through Meritorious Service?

People's joys and sorrows truly do not connect.

Someone's father is alive.

Someone's father is dead.

Gu Qing sat aside, watching the tragedy before him.

Qiao Feng cultivated his inner energy to heal his father, while Murong Fu also cultivated his inner energy, hoping to save his father who had been pierced through the heart.

"Qiao Feng, congratulations."

Gu Qing walked to Qiao Feng's side, casually pinching two fingers to help Xiao Yuanshan smooth his meridians, saying: "I never thought your father was still alive."

Qiao Feng silently cultivated, knowing the moment he saw the black-robed man that he was his father—their faces were nearly identical; unless disguised, it had to be real.

Now Qiao Feng had a thousand questions, especially upon seeing Xiao Yuanshan's face, a dark suspicion quietly forming in his heart.

Master Xuan Ku… could it be…

"Murong Fu, please accept your loss."

Gu Qing walked to Murong Fu's side and said: "I never thought your father was still alive."

At this moment, Murong Fu's gaze was vacant, his spirit scattered; the blood seeping from Murong Bo's body had grown cold, and his own father had truly passed away.

"Originally, Yan Longyuan rejected the coffin to avoid exposing his faked death."

At this moment, Gu Qing, like a hindsight strategist, said: "But none of us thought of this, and your father was always mysterious—he even kept this faked death secret from you…"

Murong Fu still could not accept that he had killed his own father; hearing Gu Qing's post-event analysis, he recalled how he had already stabbed Murong Bo several times by the Taihu Lake, deepening his grief.

What Murong Fu could not accept was that Gu Qing spoke in "we," completely absolving himself of responsibility.

In the end, wasn't it Gu Qing who had opened Murong Bo's coffin that led to this situation?

Murong Fu's thoughts turned hostile as he glared at Gu Qing, idly pointing toward Bian River: "Yuyan?"

Gu Qing obediently turned around.

"Clang!"

Murong Fu's eyes blazed with malice as he thrust his sword at Gu Qing's back.

Qiao Feng, watching beside him, lunged to intercept—but saw Gu Qing raise a hand, meeting Qiao Feng's palm force midair and nullifying it entirely; Murong Fu's sword struck Gu Qing's back directly, and with a sharp "clank," the blade snapped in two.

Gu Qing turned around, calmly staring at Murong Fu.

Even if I give you a chance to ambush me, you still can't break through my defenses!

Murong Fu stared at Gu Qing—this man had opened Murong Bo's coffin, stolen Wang Yuyan, exposed the Murong family's secrets, caused the family's downfall, and through the prison break, led Murong Fu to accidentally kill his own father. All these grievances ran deep, yet Gu Qing stood there, casual and indifferent, becoming an insurmountable mountain to Murong Fu.

"Sigh…"

Murong Fu sighed. All his pursuits over nearly thirty years had turned to dust; killing his father by accident was an unforgivable sin. Holding the broken sword, he said nothing more, and slashed his own throat.

He could keep killing himself.

"Ding!"

Gu Qing flicked his finger, sending Murong Fu's broken sword flying away.

"I can't even die?"

Murong Fu's eyes stared blankly; under the moonlight, his thin frame shivered like a scrap of paper.

"No one wanted this to happen."

Gu Qing sighed mournfully, gazing at the dead Murong Bo, then asked: "Murong Fu, how about I report this to the court? Say you went out to kill a rebel, and count it as redeeming yourself?"

Murong Fu's lips twitched… You've got to be kidding.

"So that man was Murong Bo?"

Xiao Yuanshan gradually regained his breath and could speak again; he had heard Gu Qing's words, and now, with sorrow, said: "For years we've been hiding in Shaolin Temple, waiting for the day we could confront Shaolin together. I never thought he'd die here."

Xiao Yuanshan had infiltrated the Wu Lin for thirty years and knew every prominent figure in it. "Father."

Qiao Feng immediately spoke: "It was Murong Bo who forged the message years ago, tricking Shaolin into launching a thousand-li raid to ambush us beyond Yanmen Pass. Murong Bo was the true mastermind."

"Puh…"

Hearing this, Xiao Yuanshan spat blood and fainted again.

The surface of Bian River shimmered, reflecting the stars.

While watching the scene, Gu Qing noticed another figure approaching from afar, gliding near and seeing Murong Bo's corpse, he let out a Buddhist chant, his expression far from calm.

The arrival was Jiumo Zhi; he had tracked Murong Bo's trail here, only to find Murong Bo already dead and his long-sought complete set of the Shaolin Seventy-Two Superior Arts still unrecovered. Jiumo Zhi uttered a Buddhist chant, sighed in regret, and tears fell.

Another scheme had ended in failure.

Murong Fu had once been taken to meet Jiumo Zhi in prison, knowing this master had traveled far and wide for his sake. Now seeing Jiumo Zhi weep for Murong Bo, Murong Fu too burst into tears.

"Master."

!

Gu Qing, aware of Jiumo Zhi's goal, spoke up: "How high must a skill be to count as high?"

Jiumo Zhi lowered his gaze, his expression gentle with compassion: "To strengthen the body and improve daily—no need to chase rank or level."

Gu Qing smiled, then suddenly said: "Actually, he's read the Shaolin Seventy-Two Superior Arts."

Gu Qing pointed at Xiao Yuanshan.

In fact, the Langhuan Jade Cave held the complete scrolls of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Superior Arts; Gu Qing had spent time there, read every scroll, and fully memorized them using Merit Points.

Jiumo Zhi turned to Xiao Yuanshan, eyes blazing with eagerness: "Master, you truly read Shaolin's Seventy-Two Superior Arts?"

Xiao Yuanshan, still brooding, merely nodded; he had hidden in Shaolin for years and had read every martial art in the Scripture Pavilion.

"This man also seeks to oppose Shaolin."

Gu Qing introduced him to Xiao Yuanshan.

Jiumo Zhi studied the Seventy-Two Superior Arts to surpass his peers; hearing Xiao Yuanshan intended to oppose Shaolin, he felt an instant kinship.

"Let's head back."

Gu Qing reached out, grabbed Murong Fu, and vanished in a flash, streaking toward Bianliang City. Inside the prison, chaos had just erupted as guards were counting prisoners—suddenly, a shadow blurred past, a faint green figure darting in and out. The guards stared around, bewildered: the escaped Murong Fu had returned.

The prison erupted in joy; they immediately tightened security, and for this mysterious figure who came and went through the prison, they could only bow in worship.

The Li household.

Gu Qing drifted back, noticing the dim lights of surrounding rooms—only A Bi's chamber still glowed. Without hesitation, he pushed open the window and slipped inside.

"You're back?"

A Bi was mending clothes; upon seeing Gu Qing, she rose at once: "How is the Young Master?"

"Yan Longyuan is in Bianjing. After Murong Fu killed him, he didn't get Yan Longyuan's things, felt his dream of restoring the state was hopeless, and tried to kill himself again."

Gu Qing spoke with the tone of a historian: "I put him back in prison."

Again?

A Bi was numb.

(End of Chapter)