The rain was still falling. Thunder could be heard. HuaiSang came to his senses and wondered where he was. We suddenly heard cries of pain coming from behind the statue. A stench spread through the temple.

SuShe appeared supporting Jin GuangYao . Brother, HuaiSang and Jin Ling rushed towards them to see what was going on. Jin GuangYao's hand was bleeding. From where we were, I could not see the extent of his injury, and in fact I was only interested in reducing him to helplessness.

I saw him grab a vial from his belt. Probably a painkiller. Wei Ying and I stood up to get a better look. His hand was burned. SuShe put a tourniquet on it. In addition to the burn, he must have inhaled a poison!

Jin GuangYao rushed back behind the statue. We all followed him except Jiang Cheng who continued to treat his wounds.

At the edge of the pit, the guards and monks had died! A kind of coffin had been excavated. SuShe opened it. From the look on Jin GuangYao's face, what was inside must not have been what he expected! He felt a kind of uneasiness due to... Fear? Was this the feeling I could read on his face?

Brother and Nie HuaiSang approached and looked inside. From HuaiSang's reaction, I knew that the body inside was that of his brother Nie MingJue. And his head was back to the rest of his body! How could this be possible. Jin GuangYao had the head and Nie MingJue's body had been buried!

Brother and HuaiSang's eyes filled with anger, but it was Brother who exploded first.

"You .... But what do you want?" My love intervened.

"Zewu Jun, you are wrongly accusing the head of the Jin Clan. It seems that he was not the one who buried it there. What he buried was replaced by this body. Am I right? Chief of the Jin Clan?".

SuShe threw himself on top of us and accused Wei Ying of being behind it. I interfered by putting Bichen between us! My love pointed out that if he had set the trap, Jin GuangYao would have lost not just one hand but more!

He asked Jin GuangYao if he remembered the letter that his wife had received and that revealed his "ugly secret"! He told him everything that we had learned from Sissi and Bicao, and at the same time, he told him that someone had been watching him and had found out everything that he was hiding! It was probably this person who had made the exchange in the coffin and had set a trap for him!

When one of the "gravediggers" confirmed that the loose soil was evidence of a third party's intervention, Jin GuangYao exploded with rage. He rushed to the pit in a rage. He slammed his fist into the edge of the coffin. He took a quick look at the occupant.

"Chief of the Jin Clan, do you realize that even though you are a predator, there is a hunter behind you? The one who was spying on you must be scrutinizing your every move....Oh no; no, no, he might not even be... human!"

What were you trying to do my love? Why did you suggest that the one who was watching him was not human. Just like me, you must have been suspicious of the identity of the one who was his fierce opponent!

When Jin GuangYao's gaze fell on the body lying in the coffin, his face froze in fright!

SuShe threatened again! But he was interrupted by his "master"!

"When the poison stops working, gather the survivors and let's go!

SuShe made us return to the main hall of the temple and tied up Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng, the only ones he thought still had dangerous spiritual powers.

While he was nursing a wound, I saw through the slit in his robe the scars of the hundred holes!

"Turn around!" I ordered him. He obeyed by reflex! Everyone could see what he had been hiding for 16 years, the proof that it was he who had orchestrated the curse that led to the death of Jin Ling's father.

Brother understood what this meant. Once again, one of his illusions had vanished!

"So this was part of your plan when you ambushed Qiongqi? You let us invite Master Wei because you knew that Jin Zixun would attack him thinking he was the source of the curse? Is that it?"

"Second Brother, why do you ask?"

"Of course! If Jin Zixun didn't have a curse, none of this would have happened. That ambush allowed you to get rid of Jin Zixuan and Jin Zixun, the legitimate Jin lineage! It allowed you to inherit the Jin Clan and become the leader of all the clans! SuShe put the curse on you. It's pretty easy to guess who was behind it!".

"Jin GuangYao, I hadn't done anything wrong to you, we barely knew each other. You wanted to kill Jin Zixuan, why did you use me as a scapegoat?" asked Wei Ying.

"Master Wei, you should know better than anyone. It is impossible for us to live in peace.

"What a loser," Jiang Cheng insulted him.

SuShe as a faithful dog defended him.

"You all think you are noble farmers. But you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You look down on us. Aren't the disciples who are not of great lineage human too? If I had been able to protect myself, would I have been thrown out of the clan like an old pile of dust?

He was talking to me. Wei Ying wasn't a blood relative of a clan either! This envious fool was annoying me!

"Yes, the Lan Clan does not tolerate traitors.

"Han GuangJun, I hate your condescending attitude, one little mistake and you have no mercy . As if I am inferior. Except for the leader of the Jin Clan who respected me a little bit. I'll tell you what, a man as disdainful as Jin Zixun had no right to mercy!"

Wei Ying laughed. What was going on? He had tears in his eyes and that nervous laughter! I was afraid for his state of mind! Since his return to life, he had learned and experienced terrible things. Was he breaking down?

"Why are you laughing?"

"It's nothing, I didn't expect that... I didn't think that your motivation to kill would be just that!".

Jin GuangYao slyly returned to the charge against my love. What atrocity was he going to tell him again, Given his state of mind my love was weakened and wouldn't be able to bear further insinuations!

Jin GuangYao told him that it was all his fault because his behavior at the time made everyone angry at him. It was logical that those who felt offended, suspected him of the worst at every opportunity! He told him that he was destined to have a short life!

"It is you who will have a short life, son of a whore!" SuShe immediately pointed his gun at Jiang Cheng who had just said these words!

Jin GuangYao turned to him, it was his turn again to be the target of this manipulator. He liked to take advantage of other people's weaknesses!

"You are aggressive because the truth hurts. You are looking for a culprit, if it helps you to put everything on my back, do not hesitate! But you must realize that you are also responsible for what happened to your elder brother! After the battle of Qishan, the Nie, Lan and Jin clans were trying to get all the glory. But you, you rebuilt the lotus wharf with Wei Wuxian , so dangerous and untamable by your side. Did you really think that the other clans were proud of such a young clan leader? Which means that if you and your brother had shown a united front and been more lenient towards him, the others could not have sown discord between you; none of this would have happened!"

"You are just a malicious being!" he replied.

I watched my love. He had gradually regained control of his emotions and put on his face that mask I had come to know!

"If the term son of a prostitute can get you in such a state. No wonder you killed Nie MingJue!" the face of Jin GuangYao closed and he clenched his jaw.

"Everyone gather around and let's go," Jin GuangYao said as he stood up, directed at SuShe.

Your look was determined my love, you were preparing to attack your opponent where it would hurt. You must have noticed his fear of Nie MingJue!

"Chief of the Jin Clan, how did you kill Nie MingJue? Are we all curious? You and Xue Yang took a long time to turn him into a puppet! Aren't you afraid?"

From the way he turned around, I understood that you had hit a weak spot! Continue my love, you will make him less attentive to what is happening around him.

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of him...that he'll come looking for you" Your opponent's head immediately turned towards the coffin!

The storm was getting stronger, the wind was entering the temple. I saw your smile, strange and disturbing! The one I didn't like to see on your face because it announced your use of demonic magic! You started to whistle!

I don't know what exactly was going on and I don't think the others do either. But Jin GuangYao seemed to see things that we couldn't see!

The air you were whistling was sinister! What spirits had you summoned? Still, they seemed to be giving the leader of the Jin clan a hard time. He found himself on his knees moaning and crying. He suddenly spat out blood. You stopped whistling. He looked at you and came towards us! I had to be ready. I saw that Brother was also standing by. He must have recovered some of his spiritual energy.

"Patriarch of Yiling, you are worthy of your reputation. Even though Xue Yang had only restored part of the Yin Hufu and without Chenqing, you still manage to manipulate minds!"

Brother suddenly unlocked Shuoyue and brandished it at his "Third Brother's" throat.

When SuShe thrust her sword at my brother, I pulled out Bichen, proving that I too had recovered my spirit energy.

His sword broken, a gaping wound in his wrist SuShe was no longer a threat to us! He and his master were under our control.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)