Chapter 936
The Sect Leader Has Arrived!
"Get out of my way, all of you! I was the one who touched that bowl of beef first!"
"These are offerings!"
"Offer sacrifices to your ancestors! People are starving to death, and you still want offerings!"
The area in front of the mountain gate was in complete chaos.
The snow was trampled into mud, which was then mixed with blood. Some people fought over half a jar of wine, shattering the empty jar on the ground. Someone carrying a basin of meat was knocked to the ground, and surprisingly, he lay down in the snow and started eating the mud and oil. Several gatekeeper disciples secretly carried Yin Feng Zhenren's corpse to the side, and as they moved it, they stole the string of cured meat next to him.
Li Chuan leaned against the doorpost, watching all this, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
There was no warmth in her smile.
"See that..." he muttered to himself, as if speaking to himself, "They didn't even need the people from Hongyun City to kill them; they just started doing it themselves..."
Beside him, a surviving disciple who had also escaped from the foot of the mountain, missing half an ear, shuddered upon hearing this.
"Senior Brother Li, please keep your voice down."
"Why are you speaking so softly?" Li Chuan turned his head to look at him. "Didn't you see? Yesterday, that guy surnamed Zheng was standing on the city wall, looking at us like we were pigs. He wasn't in a hurry to kill us all. He just wanted us to come back and see what else we could grab or bite on the mountain."
The disciple's lips trembled: "Stop talking..."
Li Chuan suddenly asked, "Are you hungry?"
The disciple was stunned.
"I'm asking you if you're hungry."
"……Hungry."
"Then let's go rob it!" Li Chuan stared at the surging crowd ahead, his eyes red. "If we don't rob it, who's going to give it to you?"
While the disciple was still in a daze, Li Chuan, leaning on his sword, limped forward.
He didn't try to steal the meat or the wine.
He rushed straight to Mo Ku's corpse, ripped off the big red flower, and held it high as if he were holding a lump of blood.
"Look carefully!" he roared hoarsely. "Hongyun City is for Elder Mo's faction! They're treating us like dead people! And you're still stealing our flesh! Steal it! Why don't you keep stealing!"
The crowd froze for a moment at the shout.
Many people saw that red flower.
That thing was already eye-catching, but the aroma of meat and wine had overwhelmed everyone's minds, and no one had time to think about it carefully. Now that Li Chuan had raised it, everyone felt as if their eyes had been stabbed.
Panting heavily, Qin Yuancheng seized the brief lull in the fighting and shouted sternly, "Stop! All of you—"
"Stop what!"
Cao Xuan suddenly roared, his eyes red, and grabbed Qin Yuancheng by the collar, "Your Deacon Hall withheld the grain from the granary yesterday, and today you want to take away all the wine and meat that were delivered! Do you think we, the people of Chixiao Peak, are all dead?!"
Tian Kui also said in a sinister tone, "Master Qin, your men injured someone with their swords just now, you have to give an explanation."
"Let go!" Qin Yuancheng shouted angrily. "If this continues, they'll all be treated as traitors!"
"Traitor to the sect?" The old man from Lingwu Hall, who had already taken a big gulp of wine and whose nose was red, laughed loudly upon hearing this. "They're almost starving to death and they still dare to betray the sect! Go ask them, who's afraid of this?"
"Yeah, what's there to be afraid of!"
"Go ahead and kill us all if you dare!"
"Chop away! Who gets the meat after you've chopped it all down!"
"When those old guys in the Taiqing Hall were keeping to themselves and enjoying the spoils, why didn't they follow the clan rules?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yuancheng's face instantly turned ashen.
"Who said that! Step forward!"
No one was standing there.
But the malice within the crowd was already rising like black water beneath the ice.
Qin Yuancheng knew that he couldn't delay any longer.
He abruptly drew his token from his waist and raised it high: "Disciples of the Enforcement Hall, listen to my command! Anyone who disturbs the mountain gate or steals sacrificial offerings—"
"Sacrificial offerings my ass!"
Li Chuan suddenly threw the big red flower to the ground, pointed in the direction of Taiqing Hall, and said in a voice as sharp as sand grinding iron: "If you really have the guts, then put all the fellow disciples who escaped back last night to beg for medicine and food but were blocked outside the door and froze to death as offerings and carry them over there! Let's see if those people in the hall dare to open their eyes!"
These words are sharper than a knife.
Qin Yuancheng froze.
Those around who had been freezing, injured, or witnessed their fellow disciples die at the gate the previous night all breathed heavily.
An outer disciple suddenly shouted, "That's right! My senior brother died outside the storeroom last night! The people in the Hall of Affairs said that you can't get your rations without a token!"
"Me too!"
"The pharmacy isn't dispensing medicine! They say they need to prioritize the inner sect members!"
"Bullshit! I haven't seen any medicine even in my inner sect!"
"My alchemy room has been without fire for ten days. Where are the pills? Did the dogs eat them all?"
"Where is the sect leader? Didn't the sect leader say that reinforcements were arriving soon? Where are the reinforcements?!"
"Where!"
"Where!"
One shout after another, at first chaotic, but later it even sounded like a unified chant.
For the first time, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Qin Yuancheng's back.
He suddenly realized that what Hongyun City had sent was neither corpses nor wine and meat.
It's a hook.
A hook pierced everyone's stomach, and then pulled upwards, bringing out all the words that had been suppressed for a long time and that no one dared to say.
Just then, another group of people arrived on the mountain path.
This group wasn't disciples, but rather stewards and deacons sent by several peaks, all with grim expressions. They had originally come to snatch the corpse, but upon arriving, they first smelled the aroma of wine and meat, then heard people shouting, "Where is the sect leader?" and "Where are the elixirs?" Their expressions immediately became quite interesting.
One of the men, a fair-skinned, beardless middle-aged man, was the head of the affiliated peak that had been merged from Medicine King Valley. His surname was Zhou, and he was usually very good at reading the wind. When he arrived, he didn't touch the corpse first, but asked in a sinister voice, "Head of the Qin family, before the group that went down the mountain last night set off for the expedition, did the Hall of Affairs say that if they returned victorious, the three peaks would share the remaining grain in the granary?"
Qin Yuancheng's eye twitched: "That was a stopgap measure—"
"An expedient measure?" Chief Zhou sneered. "Now that the people are dead, what about the grain?"
"The grain is in the granary; it will be distributed as needed!"
"How should it be divided?" Chief Zhou pressed closer. "Who will divide it? Or will the Taiqing Hall do it?"
The atmosphere was getting increasingly tense.
The dozen or so trusted men that Qin Yuancheng brought with him had clearly begun to retreat.
Because they realized that this wasn't just a simple matter of fighting over meat.
Someone is trying to use this pot to expose the whole thing.
Just as chaos erupted at the mountain gate, news finally arrived in the Taiqing Hall.
The heavy palace doors kept out wind and snow.
But even the thickest door couldn't block out the faint commotion coming from down the mountain.
Only two lamps were lit inside the main hall, making it as dimly lit as a tomb. In the braziers at the corner of the hall, the charcoal had burned white, but the heat was very weak. Several white-bearded elders of the inner sect sat around a long table, each with a nearly empty cup of hot tea in front of them.
The tea was weak, and not a single whole tea leaf could be seen.
Sect Leader Xuan Chengzi sat in the main seat, his eyes sunken, yet his fingers remained firmly planted on the table. But beneath that steadiness, an undeniable weariness lingered.
The messenger outside the hall knelt by the threshold, his voice trembling.
"...The mountain gate is in complete chaos. The bodies of Elder Mo and several others were sent back by Hongyun City, along with wine and meat. Disciples from all the peaks have gathered at the mountain gate upon hearing the news, and clashes have already broken out between the Hall of Affairs and the people from Blackwater Peak and Crimson Cloud Peak. Now some people are asking about the grain reserves, some are asking about pills, and some are shouting... shouting for the sect leader." After the last two words were spoken, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
An elder with a ashen face couldn't help but slam his fist on the table: "Outrageous! A mere few bowls of meat and a few jars of wine have caused them to make such a scene!"
The other person said coldly, "It's not the food and drink that's causing the problem, it's the stomach."
"This is not the time to talk about this." The old woman sitting at the end of the table coughed. "Sect Leader, if the sect continues to be in chaos, things may change."
Xuan Chengzi slowly opened his eyes.
"Have you seen the bodies of Mo Ku and the others clearly?"
"Reporting to the sect leader, I saw it clearly." The messenger disciple didn't dare to raise his head. "They're all dead. Elder Mo's ribs were shattered, Elder Yin Feng was pierced through the body by an iron spear, and that guy from Blazing Fire Peak... his body isn't even intact."
Xuan Chengzi remained silent for a moment.
"How many of those who escaped alive are still alive?"
"Less than three hundred."
The old woman closed her eyes briefly: "Two thousand people went down the mountain, three hundred returned..."
The ashen-faced elder beside him suddenly gritted his teeth: "I told you we shouldn't have let Mo Ku run wild! Now look what's happened, he's dragged the entire sect into the mud!"
Another old man immediately sneered: "What's the use of making sarcastic remarks now? If he doesn't come down the mountain, these people on the mountain will starve for another two months and then they'll still cause chaos!"
"Shut up!" Xuan Chengzi suddenly shouted.
The hall fell silent immediately.
Xuan Chengzi raised his eyes, his gaze as if covered by a layer of ice.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? That guy surnamed Zheng isn't doing this to show off at all. Sending the corpses back and setting up food and wine at the mountain gate is just to incite chaos on the mountain first. He's not attacking the mountain; he's making us tear ourselves apart."
Elder Huibai gritted his teeth and said, "Then we can't let the sect continue to make trouble like this! Sect Leader, we should immediately send a personal disciple from the Taiqing Hall to suppress this, burn the wine and meat, and send the corpses back to their respective peaks!"
"Burn them?" The old woman glanced at him. "You're ordering the meat to be burned now? Do you think the people below don't hate you enough?"
The elder paused.
The old woman then turned to Xuan Chengzi: "But we can't let them continue to gather at the mountain gate. With so many people, they'll dare to say anything and do anything."
Xuan Chengzi slowly stood up.
When he stood up, he swayed slightly for a moment. The young Taoist priest next to him quickly went to help him up, but he raised his hand to stop him.
"Pass on the orders." Xuan Chengzi's voice was soft, yet it made everyone straighten their backs. "First, open the No. 1 warehouse and release 30% of the grain. According to the peak leaders, no one is allowed to withhold any. Second, the medicine hall should distribute all the remaining Qi-gathering powder and hemostatic pills, prioritizing those injured who returned to the mountain last night. Third, the corpses at the mountain gate should be immediately carried to the front of the Ancestral Hall for each peak to claim; they must not be left to dry in the snow any longer."
Just as the messenger was about to accept the order, Xuan Chengzi paused for a moment.
"fourth."
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he had finally swallowed a mouthful of blood.
"Take the wine and meat sent from Hongyun City to the front of the Ancestral Hall as well."
Several elders in the hall looked up at the same time.
"Sect Leader?" Elder Ash exclaimed in disbelief.
"Didn't they want to see it?" Xuan Chengzi said calmly. "Then let them see it."
The old woman stared at him: "What do you want to do?"
Xuan Chengzi said, "I want to see if these few bowls of meat can drive them crazy, or if the ancestral tablet can bring them back to their senses."
At the mountain gate, the chaos had escalated from fighting over meat to pushing and shoving, and then to drawing knives.
A Blackwater Peak disciple, protecting the corpse of his elder, had his face slashed open by a member of the Crimson Cloud Peak. Another outer sect servant, carrying a wine jar, was chased for several dozen paces by members of the Enforcement Hall, pinned to the ground in the snow, and beaten half to death. But no matter how much they were beaten, the meat they had snatched was ultimately swallowed by someone else.
After swallowing it, things got even more chaotic.
Some cried, some laughed, some chewed and cursed, and some suddenly hugged the corpse and wailed, "Elder! When you were alive, you didn't give your disciple a single pill, but now that you're dead, you've brought your disciple back flesh!"
As soon as he said this, a few strange laughs rang out from the crowd nearby.
The laugh was short and sharp, like the hooting of an owl at night.
Qin Yuancheng felt a chill run down his spine and was about to shout to stop them when suddenly, the sound of orderly footsteps came from the mountain path.
The imperial edict from the Taiqing Hall has finally been issued.
There were two hundred men in total. Although none of them looked well, at least their robes were relatively neat and their weapons were complete. Their arrival finally suppressed the chaos in front of the mountain gate to some extent.
Jiang Che, the eldest disciple in charge, walked to the front expressionlessly, glanced at the mess on the ground, and frowned deeply.
In the snow, broth, wine, blood, and water mingled together in a filthy mess. Mo Ku's corpse was still in the middle, but the red flower was gone, and the storage pouch at his waist had been stolen sometime earlier.
Jiang Che said coldly, "The sect leader has ordered! Open Warehouse Number One and release 30% of its grain! All corpses, wine, and meat must be carried to the Ancestral Hall! Anyone who causes trouble again will be punished according to the sect rules!"
These words did indeed calm the commotion somewhat.
It's not because of the rules.
It's because of the phrase "releasing 30% of the grain".
Many people's eyes lit up.
"The grain has been distributed?"
"real or fake?"
"Has the sect leader finally agreed to open the vault?"
"Why didn't you do this sooner!"
Upon hearing this, Li Chuan tightened his grip on the doorpost slightly, and the corner of his mouth twitched again.
The disciple with the severed ear whispered, "Senior Brother Li, the vault is open, finally..."
"What do you mean, 'finally'?" Li Chuan interrupted him, his eyes dark. "You really believe this was something the sect leader decided to do himself?"
The disciple with the severed ear was stunned.
Li Chuan watched as his disciples began collecting the corpses, then suddenly said softly, "Zheng Yi's blow wasn't aimed at Mo Ku, but at the face of the Taiqing Palace. If we don't open the treasury, chaos will continue. Opening it is like telling everyone—if we don't send corpses or meat, they simply won't release them."
The disciple with the severed ear opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Li Chuan continued, "If they open 30% today, what about tomorrow? The day after? When Curry runs out of money, who will still believe their talk of reinforcements?"
His voice wasn't loud, but two or three disciples who had crawled back alive from the foot of the mountain heard him.
The expressions on the faces of the several people gradually changed.
The area in front of the Ancestral Hall soon became lively.
It was a more spacious stone slab, where ancestors were usually worshipped and incense was burned continuously. But now there wasn't even half a stick of incense in the incense burner, and the offering table was completely empty, with only a few cracked fruit plates remaining.
The corpses of Mo Ku and the others were laid flat in the center of the stone platform, with a dense array of memorial tablets in front and a dark mass of people behind.
Wine and meat were also brought in and placed next to the corpse.
This arrangement is even more ironic.
The altar for the ancestral master was empty, while the wine and meat served to the dead were greasy and oily.
Many disciples stood in the outer circle, and as they watched, their expressions became strange.
"Look, even the potted plants in front of the Ancestral Hall don't look as decent as these."
"Shh, keep your voice down."
"Why are you being quiet? Did I say something wrong?"
"The sect leader has arrived!"
The crowd immediately parted slightly. (End of Chapter)