novelhk #661 - Don't leave any one.
#661 - Don't leave any one.
Silence descended upon the Scholar's Pavilion in an instant.
No one had expected that Vice-Sect Leader Miao, who had been full of life just a moment ago, would suddenly cough up blood and collapse to the ground, becoming a corpse.
Even the most virulent disease wouldn't claim a life so quickly.
Moreover, Miao Qianchi was a first-rate expert with profound internal energy; he could usually recover from minor injuries and illnesses without medicine.
It wasn't until a moment later, after regaining his senses, that Song Tao, the Sect Leader of the Heaven's Blade Sect, slammed the table and roared in anger, "So, this is the Suspended Temple! Such a vicious method!"
His face had turned ashen with rage.
His pair of dead fish eyes were wide as copper bells as he glared at the monks of the Suspended Temple, led by Abbot Huitong.
"Amitabha, this humble monk warned Vice-Sect Leader Miao before," Abbot Huitong sighed, "that he must answer this humble monk's questions truthfully and not leave this place until this humble monk had finished asking them."
"This humble monk said it many times and kept calling him to stop, but unfortunately, Vice-Sect Leader Miao did not heed this humble monk's warning, and that is why this disaster occurred."
"Bullshit!" Song Tao couldn't help but curse, "Regardless of whether Vice-Sect Leader Miao lied or not, is he not allowed to leave halfway if he doesn't want to answer your questions? The Suspended Temple has such great prestige! Are the words of you monks more effective than an imperial decree!"
Song Tao's words echoed the sentiments of many.
Indeed, whether Miao Qianchi lied or not, Abbot Huitong should not have prevented him from leaving.
"The corpse of my Heaven's Blade Sect does not need the high monks of the Suspended Temple to trouble themselves."
While having his men collect Miao Qianchi's body, Song Tao said to Abbot Huitong, "I've heard that Abbot's Compassionate Light has reached perfection. Song is eager to test it out."
His words escalated the already tense situation once more!
Everyone knew that the Heaven's Blade Sect would not let the death of a Vice-Sect Leader go so easily, but Song Tao's boldness in challenging Abbot Huitong right away surprised many.
Huitong had made a name for himself long ago, even before Song Tao was born, and had been famous in the martial world. In the last twenty or thirty years, he had rarely taken action, but no one dared to underestimate him.
On the contrary, they felt that he was becoming increasingly unfathomable.
In comparison, although Song Tao was also well-known in the martial world, his ranking on the Heavenly Pivot List was not very high. His Heaven's Blade Sect was infinitely glorious forty years ago, but now it was also facing a crisis of talent shortage and had fallen behind other top sects.
However, perhaps it was precisely because of this that Song Tao, as the Sect Leader, had to use such drastic measures to maintain the dignity of his sect.
And his actions did indeed earn him many admiring glances.
Some of these glances came from the young disciples of the Heaven's Blade Sect itself, and some came from people of other sects. After all, fighting the strong with the weak always easily gains the support of onlookers.
Moreover, Abbot Huitong's previous behavior was indeed somewhat excessive, so now the martial artists in the Scholar's Pavilion clearly sided more with the Heaven's Blade Sect.
Zhi Zhen, the Chief Seat of the Arhat Hall of the Suspended Temple, also had a fiery temper and immediately became angry upon hearing this, "Do you think you can challenge my Suspended Temple's Abbot? Come, pass this humble monk's test first!"
"Heh heh, if the esteemed masters of the Suspended Temple want to engage in a gauntlet match, then Song will accompany you to the end."
"Enough." Qiu Moli, who hadn't said much, finally spoke, somewhat helplessly, "Everyone, we have gathered here today to discuss how to deal with the menacing demonic path. We haven't even gotten to the main topic, and we're already fighting amongst ourselves. Aren't we just making people laugh?"
Seeing Qiu Moli speak, Song Tao's tone softened slightly, "Song also wants to have a good discussion with everyone on how to deal with those demonic fiends, but… my Heaven's Blade Sect's Vice-Sect Leader can't just die in vain, can he? Putting aside everything else, at least please have the esteemed monks of the Suspended Temple tell me how Vice-Sect Leader Miao died."
Song Tao's request was reasonable and was also the common question in the hearts of everyone in the Scholar's Pavilion.
At least half of the top experts of the righteous martial world had come tonight, yet no one had been able to discern how Miao Qianchi had died, which was abnormal in itself.
So, everyone looked towards the high monks of the Suspended Temple, seemingly wanting to get an answer from them.
As a result, Huitong's answer was not much different from before, "Amitabha, Vice-Sect Leader Miao did not answer this humble monk's previous questions truthfully and wanted to leave against advice. This is the cause of his death. Therefore, this humble monk once again implores everyone to do as this humble monk says, and by no means repeat the mistake of Vice-Sect Leader Miao."
Huitong's words caused an uproar in the building.
It was one thing for the Suspended Temple to be unwilling to reveal the means by which Vice-Sect Leader Miao was killed, but according to Abbot Huitong's meaning, it seemed that he wanted to find other people to continue questioning.
What did this mean?
Even Qiu Moli couldn't help but ask, "What exactly does Abbot intend to do?"
Huitong sighed towards the sky, "This humble monk doesn't want to either… Forget it, let's not talk about it. Everyone, please continue to answer the questions. Since someone from the Heaven's Blade Sect has already answered, let's change to another sect for the next one."
"What, does Abbot still want to question us all?" Han Shi said coldly.
"Yes."
Huitong's answer once again shocked everyone.
He said sincerely, "This humble monk hopes that everyone can cooperate as much as possible, answering every question without concealment, so that everyone can eventually leave here safely."
"What big words!" Han Shi laughed in extreme anger, "Abbot keeps saying that he doesn't want to be the leader of the martial arts alliance, but now he's already issuing orders here. Does he really think that my Sword Washing Pavilion's longsword is just for show?!"
His tone had already become stern in the last half of his sentence.
One hand also gripped the hilt of his sword.
The question of who is the number one person in the martial world today has been debated endlessly. After all, people at this level usually take action less and less often. Unless there is a real head-on fight, it is difficult to say who is definitely stronger than whom.
But Han Shi is indeed the number one expert in the world in the hearts of most people.
And once he draws his sword, some people tonight are afraid that there will be a bloody disaster.
However, even at this moment, there was no panic on Huitong's face, only a nod, "Since that's the case, then let Pavilion Master Han answer this humble monk's question next."
"If you want to ask me, it's better to ask my sword first."
After saying the last word, Han Shi had already drawn his sword, and a terrifying aura full of oppression spread out in an instant, centered on him.