Chapter 410: The Secret

Chapter 410: Secrets

Ye Youchen's words cleared up some of Su Mo's doubts.

When he captured the Sick Prince that day, Su Mo had sensed that the man in plain clothes seemed to harbor ulterior motives and appeared to know more about the situation on Longmu Island than the average person.

Otherwise, there would have been no reason to take precautions.

Then came the words of the Poison Lord.

This man possessed extraordinary medical skills and had detailed knowledge of Longmu Island.

He was even aware of the hidden "Labyrinth" behind the Ghost Vine cave—such secrets were not common knowledge.

Clearly, he must have had deep-rooted connections to Longmu Island.

Given what’s being revealed now, it all made perfect sense.

As the disciple of Longmu Island's Grand Physician, it was no surprise he knew so much.

Su Mo lightly tapped his fingers on the table before continuing:

"And then?

"After leaving Longmu Island, what did you do?"

"Found a place to train rigorously in martial arts and hone my medical skills."

Ye Youchen sighed. "Chief Escort Su, you know as well as I do that Longmu Island is isolated from the world. We never had any contact with outsiders.

"The people on the island are treacherous, and the world beyond is a cruel hell.

"Following the method left behind by my master, I left the island and set foot in the martial world of the Southern Sea.

"But repeatedly, I was nearly cheated out of everything, even my life.

"Gradually, I became hesitant to trust others. I could only focus on perfecting the Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates while honing my medical skills.

"At the same time, I was searching for a solution...

"My master disappeared without a trace. With my abilities at the time, recklessly searching for him would only lead to a brutal death.

"So I had no choice but to practice diligently while seeking trustworthy allies, waiting for the right moment to return to Longmu Island—both to find traces of my master and..."

Here, he paused briefly before meeting Su Mo’s gaze and spelling out each word:

"Kill the Island Master!!"

Su Mo studied Ye Youchen calmly before shaking his head slightly:

"Your master is likely beyond help."

"I know."

Ye Youchen gave a bitter laugh. "I knew it the moment he vanished.

"But I had to search for him.

"As his disciple, and given the debt for his nurturing kindness, how could I just abandon him?"

"As for whether he is alive or dead, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

"In comparison, the Island Master must die."

Everyone fell silent. Little Situ Taoist glanced at Ye Youchen, then at Su Mo, suddenly grasped Su Mo's earlier speculation.

After pausing briefly, however, she chose not to speak.

Meanwhile, Su Mo studied Ye Youchen thoughtfully:

"Oh? Because he was responsible for your master's disappearance?"

"No..."

Ye Youchen hesitated after speaking.

Raising his eyes, he scanned the faces of everyone present before giving a slight shake of his head:

"This is a secret. I can't tell all of you."

"Alright."

Su Mo nodded, then glanced at Zhou Wenjing, Cheng Suying, and Duan Wenwu:

"Would you three mind waiting outside for a moment?"

Zhou Wenjing and Cheng Suying didn't object and immediately stood up to leave.

Even Duan Wenwu showed no displeasure, obliged without complaint.

After Yin Xiaoyu exited, she closed the door and glanced at Duan Wenwu and the others:

"No telling how long they'll be. Maybe wait in the guest room?"

"..."

Duan Wenwu quickly shook his head. Was she serious? The Sea Witch Yin Xiaoyu was staying in the guest room—why would he go in there?

If he had a death wish, he might as well find a crooked tree to hang himself from. Why bother with all that?

Cheng Suying and Zhou Wenjing also shook their heads.

Cheng Suying had already spent too much time in that guest room. Now that she'd regained her freedom, why return to that miserable place?

As for Zhou Wenjing, she still had many things she wanted to discuss with Su Mo. Naturally, she planned to wait outside.

With no takers, Yin Xiaoyu didn’t mind and just flashed a grin:

"Then I’ll be off."

That's when Duan Wenwu noticed—when the girl smiled, her mouth revealed a black gap where teeth should be.

What happened to her teeth?

He wondered but didn't ask.

Compelled by curiosity, his eyes darted to Cheng Suying and Zhou Wenjing for answers.

Zhou Wenjing didn't notice this, but Cheng Suying knew what Duan Wenwu wanted to ask and pointed at the room's door:

"He knocked it down."

"!!!"

Duan Wenwu drew a sharp breath.

......

......

"You may speak now."

Su Mo lazily reclined in his chair and fixed Ye Youchen with a look:

"What kind of secret is it?"

Ye Youchen then looked at Little Situ. Seeing Su Mo unmoved, he sighed softly:

"The secret to immortality."

After uttering these five words, he locked eyes with Su Mo, eager to see his reaction.

And indeed, Su Mo's expression changed. The next moment, his brow darkened:

"Immortality?

"Brother Ye, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Precisely what Chief Escort Su infers."

Ye Youchen took a deep breath and said, "I suspect the Master of Dragonwood Isle has never truly died."

"That's impossible."

Little Situ immediately shook her head:

"How could there be an undying person in this world?"

"I don’t want to believe it either."

Ye Youchen let out a measured breath, before continuing:

"However, I remember my master suspected this long before his disappearance.

"I once found some most peculiar records in his study.

"They described an inconceivable technique...

"A method to exchange heads."

Su Mo's expression twisted in greater alarm, and he vehemently shook his head:

"Brother Ye, if you take me for some credulous child and tell me such outlandish fairy tales, you’re wasting your breath."

"Chief Escort Su's martial prowess is peerless, and his mind is equally formidable."

"Even if I were ten times bolder, I wouldn't dare deceive Chief Escort Su."

Ye Youchen said earnestly:

"But this is something I truly witnessed with my own eyes.

"Moreover, speaking of this... there's another thing that I find just as unbelievable."

"...Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I suspect that my Master once had his head exchanged with someone else's."

"..."

Su Mo gave a quiet chuckle: "Brother Ye, please. The only reason I've listened to you this long is that we're both fellow travelers to this island.

"Moreover, we both have our own purposes concerning Dragonwood Island.

"Our goals align, so there might be ways we could work together.

"But now, it seems I was mistaken.

"What Brother Ye has said is nothing but delusional nonsense.

"It's late now. Brother Ye should go back and rest."

"Chief Escort Su, you're too quick to judge."

Ye Youchen replied gravely:

"Hear me out first. Whether you believe it afterward is entirely up to you."

Su Mo looked Ye Youchen over for a moment before shaking his head with a smile:

"Alright, let's hear it."

Little Situ listened to their conversation, and was at a complete loss for words.

Su Mo clearly already knew about the head-exchange technique.

In fact, it was he who had first brought it up.

Yet now, upon hearing those words from Ye Youchen, he acted as if it were the first time he'd heard of it.

Looking at the disbelief and faint disdain on his face, Little Situ nearly bought his act.

She just didn’t understand—why Su Mo wasn't telling Ye Youchen the truth?

Was this man... untrustworthy?

Her mind raced, but she kept listening intently.

Meanwhile, Ye Youchen's demeanor grew even more serious and collected:

"As I mentioned earlier, all my knowledge comes from my Master.

"Since childhood, I've learned only medicine and needling.

"While I did practice martial arts, it wasn't my main focus.

"It wasn’t until that year, a stranger came to the island."

"This person was a master of martial arts, his palm strikes laced with icy winds. After arriving, he got into a fight with our islanders."

"However, it was a case of no fight, no friendship. In the end, the Island Master stepped in, and they drank together, laughing off their grudges."

"But... that was the last time I saw that person on the island."

"After that, he disappeared without a word."

"My master said that he left the island in good spirits that night."

"But I knew my master was lying to me."

"Because that day, there had been no storm on the island."

"So how did he leave?"

"After that person departed, my master's health took a turn for the worse."

"His neck was injured, blood often seeped through his bandages."

"He was bedridden for two long years."

"Yet during that time, he summoned me to his bedside and passed down a martial art to me..."

At this, he paused and looked at Su Mo:

"Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates!"

"That person... was a martial arts master from Dragon King Hall?"

Su Mo asked.

"Correct."

Ye Youchen nodded. "But I only learned this after leaving Dragon King Hall."

"Because of this, many took me for a Dragon King Hall member."

"But when I actually encountered members of Dragon King Hall... I almost didn’t make it out alive."

"Stealing martial arts is a serious offense in the martial world."

"Within Dragon King Hall, everyone who’s allowed to learn Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates is accounted for—and I wasn’t one of them."

"That fight nearly killed me. Fortunately, I not only knew Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates but also had top-notch medical skills."

"Only then did I barely scrape by."

"From then on, I was careful not to show off this martial art."

"But that’s beside the point."

"At the time, I asked my master why we could learn this martial art."

"My master said that person was a free spirit, a true warrior, a real martial world legend."

"On a whim, he left the martial art behind on the island."

"That statement, after I left Longmu Island, I knew it was false...

"No matter how free-spirited and magnanimous a practitioner from the Dragon King Hall might be, they would never transmit the Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates to outsiders."

Chief Escort Su nodded upon hearing this:

"That's certainly true. The Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates is the Dragon King Hall's pinnacle technique.

"How could it possibly be imparted to outsiders?

"Hmm... but that doesn't necessarily prove anything, does it?

"Even if we consider the most sinister possibility, perhaps during that night's banquet, the Island Master and your master poisoned that Dragon King Hall practitioner?

"Then tortured him to force out the Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates.

"Or perhaps there's some other underlying cause?

"The wound on your master's neck might well be from that battle."

"If not for what happened afterward, even after I left Longmu Island, I might have thought the same as Chief Escort Su."

Ye Youchen sighed: "But in those days, after my master emerged from his sickbed, he too possessed a bottomlessly deep Arcane Ice Energy!"

"Unfathomable?"

Su Mo raised an eyebrow.

"I had only practiced this technique for two years at that point.

"I considered my progress quite remarkable, yet I wasn't fit to stand beside my master.

"The Arcane Ice Energy within him was as deep as an abyss, as boundless as the void—even now, I probably still couldn't compare.

"I asked him about it," he said, "and he told me it was because my aptitude was too weak, so my progress was slow.

"He himself had lain bedridden for two years, devoting himself solely to the Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates daily, plus he claimed his aptitude was better than mine, hence his unparalleled advancement..."

At this point, Ye Youchen sneered:

"What an utter rogue..."

"So, you suspect that the Dragon King Hall practitioner who came to Longmu Island that day was killed by him.

"And then your master... assumed his form?"

Su Mo raised an eyebrow: "That seems rather utterly inconceivable?"

"Indeed."

Ye Youchen nodded: "Even now, I find it beyond comprehension. But if it were true... then some unexplainable matters regarding the Island Master would also have an explanation."

"...Unexplainable?"

Hearing this, Su Mo finally betrayed a flicker of interest.

Seeing this, Ye Youchen inwardly breathed easier and intoned gravely:

"The Island Master died in those days."

"And then he came back to life?"

"No."

"..."

Su Mo raised an eyebrow: "So, the current Island Master isn’t the same one from back then?"

"I don’t know..."

As Ye Youchen spoke, a trace of unfathomable bewilderment flickered in his eyes:

"Back then, Longmu Island was once ravaged by an Abomination outbreak...

"Hmm, Chief Escort Su, do you know what an Abomination is?"

"Had the... *pleasure*... just tonight."

Su Mo’s lips twitched.

Ye Youchen gave a hollow laugh:

"In that case, it’s easier to explain.

"The Abominations that were imprisoned suddenly broke loose.

"They laid waste to the entire Longmu Island.

"Though the Island Master sat high above, power always rests on common backs.

"Without the ordinary folks, he would naturally lose the foundation of his high status.

"So, during this calamity, the Island Master personally took charge himself to quell the Abominations.

"I was still young at the time, so I waited within Longmu City.

"But who would have thought that what returned was an Island Master covered in traces of blood, limbs hacked off, half-eaten alive.

"They say their strategy backfired, causing the Island Master to get surrounded by Abominations.

"Thus, he ended up in such a state.

"Fortunately, after this battle, the Abominations were either executed or imprisoned in the Lost Caverns.

"The island returned to peace.

"But the Island Master was gravely injured, hanging on by his last breath.

"Yet, he summoned the candidate for Island Master into his quarters, saying he meant to bequeath his cultivated qi.

"And then have him assume the mantle of Island Master."

"Even at death's door, he still thought of the Island Master’s succession."

Su Mo sighed: "Remarkable dedication."

"That candidate for Island Master back then is the current one.

"We knew each other well."

"He wasn't actually much older than me, just a few years my senior.

"But for some reason, in recent years, he has changed so drastically.

"After that, the Island Master died... and he logically succeeded as the new Island Master.

"But then..."

Ye Youchen knit his brows tightly:

"But then, ever since, whenever I saw him again, I noticed that his speech, mannerisms—everything—was completely different from before."

"As the Island Master, of course he'd change," Su Mo remarked.

"...That's true."

Yet Ye Youchen sighed quietly:

"But when not a single trace of him remains, how could one not grow suspicious?

"What really haunts me, to the point of waking from nightmares, is this—

"His every movement, his every mannerism, is a perfect copy of the last Island Master!

"His speech, his demeanor, his bottomless cunning, his eerie habits...

"All of it makes me feel... that the brother who was only a few years my senior seemed to have disappeared the moment he inherited the Island Master’s martial arts.

"What appeared before me afterward was just the old Island Master!"

Su Mo massaged his forehead:

"Are you suggesting that the Island Master of Longmu Island has the ability to steal bodies? That’s a bit..."

He trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

"I don’t know..."

Ye Youchen sighed:

"Longmu Island is full of secrets.

"Especially the Island Master... his martial arts are unfathomable.

"It’s a legendary martial art passed down through generations, beyond any mortal’s reach.

"But compared to his martial arts, what frightens me more are the secrets he’s hiding.

"Whether it’s body-swapping or soul-stealing arts...

"In the end, there are too many gaps.

"And they must all be connected to this hidden truth.

"If he really murdered my master and my friend for this reason...

"If he took over someone else’s body to live forever."

"Then I'll stop at nothing to kill this man!"

At this point, he looked at Su Mo:

"I know Chief Escort Su came to this island to cure this young lady's legs.

"Though I don’t know what exactly ails her legs,

"I understand that unless it was completely incurable, you wouldn’t go to such lengths.

"...I can't say for certain if the secret hidden by the Island Master might be of any help here.

"But clearly, whether it’s you or me, we both want to uncover the truth.

"Our goals align, so I ask Chief Escort Su to do me this favor and allow me to take someone off this ship..."

"Sick Prince?"

Su Mo glanced at him.

"Naturally, it’s him."

"You want Sick Prince to enter the Scripture Cave?"

Su Mo smiled. "Tonight, you demonstrated Dragon King Hall’s Arcane Ice Seven Ultimates to make it seem the ones who came ashore were Dragon King Hall martial arts masters.

"Draw their eyes away, then sneak into what you call the Lost Soul Cavern to search for your master?

"But to do this, you need someone to create a diversion inside the Scripture Cave for you.

"So you can slip in during the confusion?"

"..."

Ye Youchen looked utterly helpless. "Chief Escort Su, aren't you too clever by half?"

Su Mo shook his head:

"Far from it. At the very least, I don’t know what could possibly stir those scripture-obsessed madmen enough to abandon their 'great task' of deciphering scriptures and emerge to investigate?"

Outside each entrance of the Scripture Cave stood one of Dragon Wood Island's disciples.

If they couldn’t draw everyone’s attention at once, even a single disciple glancing back would blow our cover.

So, it had to be something major enough to rouse the interest of those madmen.

"The solution is simple."

Ye Youchen gave a knowing laugh at this point:

"Scripture deciphering... let them decipher!"