The Scent of the Orchid in the Forest of Secrets (密林兰香)

Chapter Twenty

Shu Haolin spun around. She didn't know when Chen Linfeng had arrived, much less so when he had approached and had been standing behind her. She knew even less how Chen Linfeng had known—but he answered that question right away.

"I know because they were not the only survivors—I was another."

"You jest. Don't make things up. You would've been a mere child—how could you have survived?"

Chen Linfeng sneered. "I was lucky. I had always taken a liking to skipping classes, and I had run away to the nearby meadows to pick flowers and herbs. By the time I returned, it was late night, but even the darkness couldn't hide from me the piles and piles of bloody bodies on the floor, all gray and lifeless and without a single wisp of yuan qi left in their bodies. Don't underestimate the power of youth. I was young, yes. But the scene of death and hell in front of me—I will never forget it. Shu Haolin, she was the daughter of two of the survivors of the Lin Sect. She possesses an identity badge of the Lin Sect. I will never forget that pattern as long as I live."

"You..." Shu Haolin started, a catch in her voice as she stared at Chen Linfeng disbelievingly. Chen Linfeng's glance slid to Shu Haolin briefly, and the slight downcast sweep of his eyes and his clearing of his throat spelled out his guilt.

"I don't know how her parents survived, but they took along young Shu Haolin and fled to the countryside of Suzhou, and you, upon hearing there were still survivors of the Lin Sect, knew you had to clear them off to erase the last evidence of your misdeeds from the world. Too bad you were too foolish, and left behind too many to tell the story of your guilt."

Shu Haolin's gaze hardened, and she drew up her chin. "What he says is correct." She asserted. "I don't have many demands for you. I only demand that you apologize before the graves of my parents, lift the curse on my little brother's body, and retire from your position as Sect Leader, never to touch a sword again."

Chen Linfeng frowned. "There's no need to be merciful. Everyone is here—we don't have to worry that he can't be defeated."

"You want me to admit my crimes? I will. I was a foolish young child back then, but I have since turned over a new leaf. I ask everyone to reflect—everyone pronounced the leader of the Baiyu Alliance dead. If I had publicly returned to the Baiyu Alliance, everyone would've long since known. But I have not, not until I was forced to as the Baiyu Alliance invaded my own Sect, and the only thing I did was order them to leave."

"You're lying!" Someone cried. "My brother and countless others, they were all struck by your curse. How do you explain that?"

A cacophony of shouts started up. Shu Haolin watched grimly, not a trace of a smile on her face.

"Ever since disappearing from the world as the leader of the Baiyu Alliance thirteen years ago, I declare that my conscience has been clear. You want me to admit what I did thirteen years ago? I will. But you want me to quietly surrender? I'm afraid not!"

A powerful wind gushed through the hall, knocking over many of the decorations on the tables, and countless people with less cultivation were directly bowled over, sprawling onto the ground. People cried in panic, but at the same time, several of the more powerful cultivators in the crowd leaped out to confront Yu Ziyan face to face with their weapons. Five people were now fighting in the center of the hall, all of the tables and cushions around them overturned, leaving a wide-open space. Yet Yu Ziyan seemed completely unfazed, as his sword flashed so quickly one could only catch an afterimage. Shu Haolin was stunned—now she thought about it, Yu Ziyan had never publicly displayed his full might. As Yu Ziyan knocked half of the cultivators fighting him over with one blow, Shu Haolin couldn't help but feel a sliver of admiration—so this was the full power of a cultivator of the Immortalization stage. As a Nascent Soul cultivator still not even close to her heavenly trial, she knew she was no match for Yu Ziyan, now he had unleashed his full power. She turned around, preparing to back away to a good distance and let the experts duke it out, but as soon as she turned around, she was met face to face with Yu Jielan's stunned expression.

Yu Jielan was standing there, frozen in shock as she watched the world crash and burn around her. Shu Haolin felt her heart soften, and she placed a hand on Yu Jielan's arm. "Dashijie..." She began, but she didn't know how to finish. Shu Haolin felt slightly guilty, but at the same time, she knew she wouldn't have changed her decision no matter what.

Yu Jielan seemed to come to life with this call. "Father," she cried out. "Please stop it!"

Yu Ziyan finally stopped and glanced back, distracted. But this moment was all that was needed, as the deafening sound of a bell rang out. Its vibrations were deep and solemn, and it sent basically everyone to their knees as they desperately covered their ears. Everyone turned backwards to see a middle-aged bald man in simple monk's robes. The sound of the bell ceased, and Yu Ziyan was quickly tied up by a couple of the monk's disciples.

"Amitabha Buddha. This monk has come late, please forgive me."

The voices of the disciples of the Lianyun Temple rang out in unison, "greetings to the abbot."

***

Shu Haolin sat in her quarters alone. Yu Jielan was nowhere to be found, and Chen Linfeng hadn't come back with her, and the silence was oppressive. Her saber lay on her lap, and she ran her fingers over the engravings in the handle over and over again.

The door creaked open, and Chen Linfeng entered. Shu Haolin didn't raise her head at all.

"Haolin..."

"Since you already knew it, why didn't you say it earlier?"

Chen Linfeng visibly struggled to find the words to answer. "I... I have my reasons. I can't tell you them yet... before it's all over. I made a promise to keep quiet."

"Oh. Then there's no need to talk to me, then, I suppose." Shu Haolin said coldly.

Chen Linfeng seemed utterly defeated by that simple sentence. "I'm really sorry..."

"No point in saying sorry if you're not really sorry." She countered.

He lowered his head. Finally, after not finding any more words to explain, he pushed the door open again and left, leaving Shu Haolin in the silence once more.