Chapter 170: Clues

Chapter 170: Clues

For a moment, there was complete silence within the valley.

The three of them were also silent.

Su Tianyang's story didn't contain much in the way of satisfying justice.

As a young and upright man, he acted chivalrously, adhering to the righteous path in his heart. He had three to five close friends who stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

But when he realized that the situation was beyond his control,

He was willing to die to prevent those around him from suffering great misfortune.

"He... protected those close to him very well."

Yang Xiaoyun tightly gripped Su Mo's hand.

Su Mo nodded slightly.

At this moment, Yang Yizhi looked at Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun:

"By now, you should understand why, from the beginning, I didn't want to tell you about this."

Yang Xiaoyun nodded:

"Uncle Yang protected you with his life, ending the storm with his death."

"It may not have ended..."

Su Mo sighed: "Was Uncle Yang planning to fake his death to escape and secretly investigate?"

Yang Yizhi took a breath, somewhat angered: "This too was seen by you? Duan Song, that good-for-nothing... No wonder the Cold Moon Palace didn't think highly of him."

"So that was your plan?"

Yang Xiaoyun finally realized: "I thought, fooling Scholar Liu Yun was enough, why go as far as taking the Seven Days to Sever Worldly Ties?"

"So... so this is what you intended, you were planning to abandon your daughter?"

"This..."

Now that everything was out in the open, the years of deliberate coldness towards Yang Xiaoyun, the face he had always strived to maintain, could no longer be upheld.

He sighed helplessly: "Cloud, duty calls. As your father... I cannot let Uncle Su die without a clear cause. You should understand this reasoning!"

"I understand..."

Yang Xiaoyun took a deep breath: "So, this is consistent.

"Over the years, you deliberately crafted a harsh image, pretending to betray trust, hoping I would break ties with you.

"At the right time, no matter the changes, you could find a way to fake your death.

"And these past few years, you made me handle the escort agency alone, deliberately so.

"When you 'died,' with Iron Blood Escort Agency leaderless, they would naturally turn to me, the young Chief Escort.

"I would seamlessly inherit the agency, take over the foundation you built, and later marry Xiao Mo.

"At that point... since we would have already broken ties, even if you died, I wouldn't be as heartbroken as I am now.

"No one would suspect that you faked your death.

"What you wanted to hide was not just from me and Xiao Mo, but the entire jianghu!

"Only then would you have the chance to shift between light and dark, secretly continuing to investigate the true cause of Uncle Su's death.

"Even more so... even more so..."

By now, her eyes were filled with complex emotions: "You said before, if you were to die, no one in the jianghu would know.

"Now it seems, you meant... no one would know at all!

"From the very beginning, you were prepared. Should anything happen to you, there would be no trace left connecting you to Iron Blood Escort Agency, or to Xiao Mo and me.

"As if you appeared out of nowhere and vanished into thin air.

"The people of the jianghu would only know you, Iron Blood Spear Yang Yizhi, as a betrayer of trust, disregarding past oaths, attempting to break the engagement.

"But in the end, your daughter still married the son of your sworn brother.

"And you... died tragically in the jianghu!

"Who then could connect all of this to Xiao Mo and me?

"After all... even if Xiao Mo and I knew nothing, even if someone came to investigate in the future, they would find nothing in the end!"

Yang Yizhi listened quietly to Yang Xiaoyun's words, momentarily speechless.

This was his plan.

Merely not telling them would not prevent them from being implicated in this matter.

However, what Su Tianyang did back then and what Yang Yizhi is doing now are strikingly similar.

Even if there might be some traces of hearsay, those people will only secretly test the waters.

Their careers are not yet established, so they are unlikely to cause a major uproar. Without Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun knowing anything, there will naturally be no flaws revealed.

Thus, worries can be avoided.

Over the years, he has expanded the escort agency, laying a strong foundation for Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun.

When the time comes, he can escape by faking his death, changing his name, and even altering his appearance, erasing all traces of Yang Yizhi, even if it means destroying his own face.

He will ensure that all of this has nothing to do with Iron Blood Escort Agency, Ziyang Escort Agency, Su Mo, or Yang Xiaoyun.

If this plan succeeds, it will be a joyous occasion for all.

He is seeking revenge for Su Tianyang, and even if it means trading his life, he is willing to do so.

If the plan fails, since Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun know nothing about it, they can still live well in the future.

They will not be tormented by this immense hatred.

With the foundation he has left behind and the support of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance, at least in the four cities, three rivers, and two bays area, no one will dare to harm them.

Only then can he truly leave with peace of mind, risking it all in this life-or-death endeavor!

"Why go through all this trouble," Su Mo sighed. "Even my father wouldn't want Uncle Yang to exhaust himself over this or risk his life."

"I know," Yang Yizhi said calmly. "If he had such thoughts, I wouldn't have lived till now. But precisely because he didn't... it makes it even more infuriating!"

He suddenly stood up:

"Your father and I pledged brotherhood, kowtowing and swearing allegiance. We swore the oath of eight bows.

"What did we say then?

'With the Heavens above and the Earth below, we vowed not to live together but to die together!'

"And what happened?

"What was the result!?

"He secretly died!!

"Yang Yizhi hates nothing more than cowardly, treacherous people.

"Hasn't he forced me to become such a person as well?

"And... does he think he can deceive anyone?

"Apart from those people, how many around him could he deceive?

"Dying according to his own wishes left your mother in deep sorrow.

"Ling Hongxia traveled a thousand miles, infiltrating Ziyang Escort Agency to steal his body, but I stopped her.

"The one from Cold Moon Palace was heading south, and if it weren't for Duan Song acting quickly to intercept her, your small Ziyang Escort Agency would have been thrown into chaos!

"Even that turtle-like Li Siyun came after hearing of his death.

"We are the ones he wanted to protect.

"We are all alive, but it feels worse than being dead!

"From that day on, Ling Hongxia left for the jianghu, searching for the truth.

"Li Siyun disappeared, and now you say he committed suicide... good! He deserved to die the most!

"I went to great lengths to keep you out of this, to prevent you from getting involved, but he, thinking you had learned the Yixuan mystical skill, dragged you into this mess.

"Your father died because of this; how dare he let you suffer from this as well?

"He, a man who deserved to die... how dare he?"

The more Yang Yizhi spoke, the angrier he became, his hands trembling slightly.

Finally, after catching his breath, he looked up at Su Mo:

"Mo'er, the simplest thing in this world is death.

"It is living... that truly tortures."

"...What Li Siyun did wasn't intentional," Su Mo sighed. "He told me that in this jianghu, everyone could die except me."

"I didn't understand what he meant back then, but now I do."

"His life was saved by your father, and he could never repay what he owed you in eight lifetimes. For him to say that shows he isn't ungrateful."

Yang Yizhi's anger had not entirely subsided.

"I suppose Uncle Yang had his plans, and he was aware of them?"

"Hmm."

"So, even at the cost of taking his own life, he never told me a single word about it."

Su Mo looked up and gazed at Yang Yizhi:

"Uncle Yang, about this matter… can we take our time to deliberate?"

"The jianghu is fraught with storms, and changes happen in an instant, unpredictable.

"This time, you faked your death, using the 'Covenant of Mandarin Ducks' as a lure.

"You intended to wipe out the Three Extremes Sect in one fell swoop.

"To cut off all connections, but you didn't expect the Heaven Gate Master to be unfathomably deep, almost causing the plan to fail, didn't you?

"This also shows that the person behind this is no ordinary figure.

"With your strength alone, it's indeed hard to succeed."

"Mo'er, your insights are indeed profound."

Yang Yizhi nodded:

"There's a saying, 'Man proposes, Heaven disposes.'

"This setback was something I hadn't anticipated.

"Cloud-Catching Hand Xu Ruoshen, when he first approached me, I already sensed he had other motives.

"But I didn't reject him; instead, I welcomed him warmly.

"The Three Extremes Sect used him to probe my intentions. If I wanted to, I could have dismissed him at any time.

"However, I used him for another plan.

"This operation against the Three Extremes Sect was precisely the time to make full use of him.

"Xu Ruoshen was killed by my own hand.

"Through his death, it was only natural for me to stay at the Haoran Academy, thereby drawing out the Liuyun scholar, who had already shown traces but remained elusive.

"To make the three of them converge and thus open the secret treasure.

"And set a plan to catch the Heaven Gate Master...

"I just didn't expect the Heaven Gate Master's martial prowess to be so high.

"For me, this was acting too hastily.

"The Heaven Gate Master's whereabouts are too well-hidden. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was something I really didn't want to miss. Otherwise, with more understanding... even with his formidable skills, there might still have been a way to capture him."

Saying this, Yang Yizhi lightly shook his head: "However, taking our time to deliberate may not yield much to discuss.

"But now, I would like to ask you, since you already know everything your father did, have you gained anything from this whole affair?"

Su Mo pondered slightly, then finally spoke:

"Firstly, what exactly did Tong Yun say to my father back then?

"This matter must be the key to the change in my father's attitude.

"What you know, Uncle Yang, may not be the entire truth.

"Secondly, my father went to the Purple Sun Sect once and came back a changed man.

"Now it seems that it was mostly an act.

"But... what really happened at the Purple Sun Sect?"

Yang Yizhi gently shook his head. "I once asked Duan Song about this matter, and he said he didn't know much either.

"He only knew that on that trip, your father went to the Purple Sun Sect to seek out the sect master.

"Along the way, he encountered Duan Song and someone from the Cold Moon Palace...

"And learned that the Youquan Cult, Evernight Valley, and the Paradise Palace, the three major demonic sects, were marching unopposed into Tianqu City.

"The seven major orthodox sects joined forces to defend Tianqu City.

"As for Duan Song and the person from the Cold Moon Palace, they were dealing with demonic cultists taking the opportunity to cause trouble in East City..."

Su Mo was startled. The more he listened, the more familiar it sounded.

He instinctively glanced at Yang Xiaoyun and found that she was also looking at him.

Then, the image of the same person appeared in both of their minds... Chu Qiuyu!

That day, sailing east along the river, by the ship's railing, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun had both eaten a huge gossip.

The extraordinarily talented member of the Cold Moon Palace had fallen in love with a gallant warrior.

But because the warrior already had a wife at home, the beauty's affection was too great to accept...

This, this...

Su Mo had thought back then that it was just an idle gossip, but it turned out to be a gossip about his own father?

For a moment, Su Mo felt overwhelmed.

Unexpectedly, the drama had come knocking on his own doorstep.

It was somewhat bewildering and amusing.

The Duan Song that Yang Yizhi spoke of was likely the expert from the Purple Sun Sect at the Haoran Academy.

One of the main characters of the story, a man who had adored the Cold Moon Palace expert his entire life.

No wonder the first time that person saw me, their expression was so strange.

Shaking his head, Su Mo pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind for the moment.

After quietly listening to Yang Yizhi recount the part of the story he knew,

Su Mo felt a bit helpless. "So, you don’t know what’s really going on with the Purple Sun Sect either, Uncle Yang?"

Yang Yizhi shook his head. "Whether I know about this or not won’t change anything. Besides, at this point, do we really need to drag the Purple Sun Sect into it as well?"

"That’s true."

After a moment of thought, Su Mo said,

"There are two other matters as well.

"The first one is the whereabouts of the last traitor from Li Siyun’s clan!"

"This person..."

Yang Yizhi nodded slightly. "This person’s whereabouts are a mystery. Your father was investigating this person’s location until his very last moments.

"After your father passed away, I continued to investigate both openly and in secret.

"It’s possible that this is why Xu Ruoshen has appeared.

"However, because I never used the Mystical Shift Divine Art or the Radiant Split Light Technique,

"Even if the masterminds behind the scenes are suspicious of me, they wouldn’t connect me with the events of the past.

"Unfortunately, even after all these years, I have found no trace of the traitor."

"It seems this person’s ability to hide is truly extraordinary."

Su Mo said with a smile, "At this point, I’m starting to wonder if this person really just wants to break free from their shackles and roam the jianghu?"

"Hmm?"

Yang Yizhi was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized:

"Mo’er, you’re absolutely right!

"This is a possibility your father and I never considered.

"From what happened back then, it’s clear that the Mystical Shift Divine Art and the Radiant Split Light Technique were essentially the signature techniques of Li Siyun’s clan.

"Using them would inevitably attract attention.

"If they had betrayed their own clan to make a name for themselves in the jianghu, they would certainly have drawn the attention of the Three Extremes Sect.

"The Three Extremes Sect would never have left them alive.

"If they hadn’t considered this, they wouldn’t have chosen to betray the Three Extremes Sect.

"But if they had considered it, why would they conspire with outsiders to slaughter their own clan?"

"So, their true goal, or rather his true goal, was never to make a name for themselves in the jianghu after breaking free."

Su Mo exhaled softly. "His true goal was the Great Black Tortoise Treasury."

"But if that’s the case, why slaughter their own clan? If he only wanted to shine within the clan, with his abilities and patience, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to get close to those things, right?"

Yang Xiaoyun raised a question.

"There are many possibilities."

Su Mo said,

"Perhaps he harbored sinister intentions and had already shown some signs, which, while not enough for punishment, would keep him isolated from the core power, forever unable to access what they guarded.

"And even if he had the ability to get close to those things and take them away,

"As long as their clan wasn’t destroyed, he would always be hunted.

"Li Siyun’s clan was secretive and would never leave a traitor with sinister intentions alive.

"If the opposing side found out, he would live under the constant threat of being hunted by two forces, never able to pursue any grand plans.

"In that case, rather than trying to manage both sides, it would be better to focus on one.

"The Yu clan appeared that night in a very coincidental manner, giving him a chance to escape.

"But now that I think about it... was it really just a coincidence?"

Yang Yizhi looked serious. "If that’s the case, this person has probably been doing things in secret over the years. And his understanding of the Three Extremes Sect and the masterminds behind the scenes must far surpass ours.

"If we can find this person, it might really be a good breakthrough."

"If we can find this person, we should keep our actions in check for the time being."

Su Mo said, "This person may prove to be greatly useful."

"Oh?"

Yang Yizhi gently nodded. "We'll do as you said, but you mentioned there were two matters earlier. You've now spoken of one, so what is the other?"

"……Before my grandfather passed away, he gave an item to my father."

Su Mo continued, "I've been wondering, what exactly is this item?"

The details of this matter were not elaborated on by Yang Yizhi earlier.

Later, Su Tianyang handed this item over to the Purple Sun Sect.

After that, it seemed there was no further development regarding this matter.

When Yang Yizhi mentioned this, he had said, 'Looking back now, I understand a bit more.'

But what exactly did he understand?

Yang Yizhi sighed.

"It was…… a seal.

"Looking back now, it was probably torn off from someone your grandfather fought with."

"What kind of seal? Do you still remember?"

"It was a snake-headed sword."