The Affairs of the Martial World - Vol 4: Chapter 8

A sense of vigilance arose in Zhu Que’s heart as he looked around, only hearing the rustling of the wind through the treetops and the distant croaking of pond frogs.

He listened intently but couldn’t detect anything unusual.

Suddenly, a woman in white appeared slowly ahead; the so-called slow appearance was that the woman in white gradually rose from the ground. Beside her was a newly built grave, and it seemed she had emerged from it.

Zhu Que found the scene before him inexplicably eerie. A chill ran down his spine, and his palms began to sweat.

After the woman rose from underground to the surface, she walked towards him. Only when she got closer did Zhu Que see her face clearly.

“Tang Yingying!” Zhu Que couldn’t help but call out.

The woman in white chuckled and said, “I am not Tang Yingying.”

Zhu Que heard her voice and became much calmer, saying, “That’s right, you are not Tang Yingying. Tang Yingying doesn’t have your level of lightness skill. You are Su Xiaoyue?”

The woman did not answer Zhu Que’s question, only smiling slightly and saying, “As expected of the ‘Zhu Que’, this doesn’t scare you at all.”

Zhu Que had already guessed that this woman did not float up from underground but came up slowly from a tunnel staircase. In the darkness, it was hard to see clearly; she honestly looked like a vengeful spirit rising from a grave.

He also guessed that the person he had been following in the night attire was this woman in white in front of him, only surprised by her speed in changing clothes.

Whenever Zhu Que met with women, he always behaved with great refinement. He asked the woman in white, “May I ask if you are Su Xiaoyue? (1) You bear a striking resemblance to a friend of mine, to the point that I, in my recklessness, mistook you for someone else.”

The woman in white sighed and said, “I have just come out from underground; I am truly beneath you. With your great reputation and elevated status, how can you humbly refer to yourself beneath me?”

Zhu Que smiled and said, “Reputation is all superficial. With your skills, it’s only right for me to say that I am beneath you.”

The woman in white hummed in response and fell silent as if contemplating something. After a while, she suddenly said to Zhu Que, “Don’t ask too many questions for now. Just follow me.”

Zhu Que followed her forward, and indeed, a tunnel was ahead. The tunnel slanted downwards, leading underground, seemingly towards the new grave. It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen; the entire tunnel resembled a beast that chose its prey, ready to swallow a person into hell.

Fearing that Zhu Que might become suspicious, the woman took the lead and walked in. Zhu Que was filled with questions, but knowing he was getting closer to the truth, he held back and remained silent.

At the end of the tunnel, there was an open door. Because the cave was particularly dark, it was hard to see that there was a door from the outside. After passing through the door and turning a corner, they descended a dozen steps and finally saw a glimmer of light.

The two walked forward, one in front of the other, and the sounds from outside were cut off by the tunnel and were no longer audible. In the silent environment, one could almost only hear the sound of their heartbeat.

The woman in white pushed open two doors, and a bright light spilled out from within. Having stayed in the darkness for so long, Zhu Que found the sudden light somewhat blinding.

The woman entered the door first, and Zhu Que followed her in. As soon as they stepped inside, they discovered a different world: an exceptionally spacious place resembling a large cave, with the surroundings neatly maintained and several lanterns hanging on the walls.

If Zhu Que had not known in advance that it was under a grave, one might have thought they had arrived at some palace hall. It wasn’t stuffy here; it was clear they had their cavities for ventilation, but it was just hard to tell where they were.

The cave had two rows of chairs, with a tea table in the middle. Six people were seated on the chairs, and when the woman in white arrived, she silently walked to an empty chair and sat down. Along with the other six people, seven pairs of eyes focused on Zhu Que. Zhu Que cupped his hands in greeting, acknowledging them.

An elderly man sitting down asked, “Are you Zhu Que?”

Zhu Que answered, “Indeed. Although you know my name, I do not know who you are.”

The old man said, “My name is Ouyang Bo. It’s quite rude to have the guest stand while speaking; please take a seat.”

Zhu Que saw that there were no empty seats left. Was the old man just toying with him by inviting him to sit?

He walked over to one of the people, reached out, grabbed the pressure point on the person’s shoulder, lifted him, and threw him aside before sitting down. The person thrown out was about to crash into the wall, but unexpectedly, he lightly bumped against the wall, turned around, and aimed to attack Zhu Que.

Zhu Que deliberately turned his face away to avoid looking at him, but the old man who had invited Zhu Que to sit down stopped him and said, “Since you’ve given your seat to a guest, don’t linger any longer. You can leave now.”

The man left in anger. The old man asked Zhu Que, “Do you know what kind of people can sit in this position?”

Zhu Que replied, “I don’t know.”

The old man said, “Only the Elders of my cult can sit in this position.”

Zhu Que said, “Oh, I didn’t know. What cult is it that you speak of, senior?”

The old man said, “Of course, it’s the Fragrance Cult. Do you need to ask when you already know?”

Zhu Que said, “I just sat down; I don’t want to be any elder. You must be overthinking it, senior.”

The old man gently advised, “My cult now has a wealth of talent; counting the followers from the thirteen provinces of the north and south, the number has exceeded ten thousand. Aside from the Beggar Gang of the poor, my sect is the largest cult in the Central Plains. And the Elders hold a position just below the sect leader and above ten thousand people. Are you still not satisfied?”

Zhu Que said, “You’ve got the wrong person. I’m not targeting your cult; I won’t join any sect at all.”

The old man suddenly frowned and said, “In that case, things will be difficult.”

He reached back with his hand, and a hidden door behind him opened. Zhu Que initially thought this underground cave was only this big, but it turned out there were other rooms. It seemed the entire underground space was vast; such a large project was hidden in a graveyard, likely to avoid drawing attention. The Fragrance Cult was called a cult for a reason; just looking at their actions, it was not without justification.

A person came out from inside the door, wearing a face towel that made it hard to see their features. Just as Zhu Que was puzzled, the person suddenly tore off the towel from their face. Upon seeing this person’s face, Zhu Que could no longer hide the surprise on his face and exclaimed, “Yuxie? How did you end up here?”

It turned out this person was Zhuang Yuxie. He said, “I have now joined the Fragrance Cult and become one of their masters. Zhu Que’er, you should join our cult as well. The members care for one another, and we all work together for a common goal. With your abilities, you will definitely achieve great things.”

Zhu Que suddenly asked a baffling question, “Is it the black robe or the gray robe?”

Zhuang Yuxie was silent for a moment and said, “It’s the black robe.”

Zhu Que nodded and said, “Hmm, I understand.” Then, he turned to several elders around him and said, “Now the world is generally at peace, and the Fragrance Cult is waiting for an opportunity to act. I fear it’s not for the benefit of the people or the poor, as you claimed. How could I, Zhu Que, a good man, join your evil cult for the selfish desires of your leader?'”

The elders exchanged glances, unsure why Zhu Que suddenly spoke these words and even more uncertain about the meaning of Zhuang Yuxie’s response.

Once, when Zhu Que and Zhuang Yuxie enjoyed their adventures in the martial world, they encountered two suspects while solving a murder case. One dressed in black and the other in gray. Both had similar suspicions against them, but in the end, they found evidence proving that the man in gray was the murderer and brought him to justice.

At this moment, Zhu Que asked whether what Zhuang Yuxie said was true or false. Zhuang Yuxie said it was the man in the black robe, meaning that his words were insincere, even forced, and he spoke lies.

The elders suddenly stood up and said, “Since we have revealed the location of our gathering to you if you don’t join our cult, do you really think you can leave here alive?”

Zhu Que knew that these people had the intention to kill and silence him, but he was not afraid. He stood up and said, “I have known since I was young that evil cannot triumph over good. It’s not frightening to stray off the path; what’s frightening is continuing down the wrong path. Everyone, I, Zhu Que, have a word of advice: it’s never too late to turn back from the wrong way. Farewell!”

After speaking, he rushed back like a shooting star. Just as he reached the door, it suddenly closed. The elders of the Fragrance Cult immediately rushed forward. One elder gathered his strength with both hands and unleashed a powerful palm strike, while Zhu Que extended his palm to block, and another elder raised his hand to attack.

Being able to attain the position of the Elders in the Fragrance Cult truly indicated remarkable power; when several of them joined forces to attack, their might was even more formidable. If it hadn’t been for the confined space in the underground chamber, one would have already suffered countless blows.

Zhu Que exerted all his strength, but it was barely enough to hold on. In the underground chamber, he vaguely saw Zhuang Yuxie being pinned down by two people. In a moment of distraction, he was struck on the shoulder by an elder’s iron fist. The strange internal energy caused Zhu Que pain that penetrated the bone, and when he finally retaliated, his movements were significantly slower.

The elders grew anxious; to deal with a young man, they needed to join forces, yet after fighting for half a day, they still couldn’t gain the upper hand. This was unprecedented, and they couldn’t help but exert all their strength to contend with him.

The space was narrow, and Zhu Que’s lightness skill could not be fully utilized, greatly diminishing its effectiveness. In times of danger, the potential that a person’s body could unleash often far exceeds that of the usual circumstances.

He was completely focused on fighting with the Elders, with no time to pay attention to the iron door behind him, which had quietly opened at some point. A hand, ghostly in appearance, reached out and pressed on the acupuncture point at the back of Zhu Que’s head.

Zhu Que was caught off guard by this sudden attack, and in an instant, it felt as if it had fallen into an endless darkness, fainting away.

Before completely collapsing, he seemed to hear Zhuang Yuxie shouting loudly, “Zhu Que’er, Zhu Que’er……”

He also wasn’t sure if Zhuang really called out. 

(1) May I ask if you are Su Xiaoyue? — “敢问 May I ask” is an honorific term for a junior to use when asking a senior about something.