Chapter 286: Chapter 283 [Brother Wu’s Counterattack]
[Chapter 283: Senior Brother Wu’s Counterattack]
As the sky began to brighten a bit at dawn, Chen Nuo’s spiritual power had recovered slightly, enough for him to struggle to his feet and move around on his own.
The woman said nothing more to Chen Nuo afterward, only sitting silently beside the campfire.
However, one could see that although her expression remained cold, the icy aura that usually emanated from her seemed to have completely vanished.
Around six or seven in the morning, a series of footsteps came from outside the cave, and then Wu Daodao appeared, his hair wet with dew, staggering over.
"Over here."
The woman stood up at the entrance of the cave and called out, waving at Wu Daodao.
Wu Daodao hurried into the cave. Seeing Chen Nuo sitting there unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief and grabbed Chen Nuo’s hand.
"Junior Brother, it’s good to see you’re alright!"
Chen Nuo rolled his eyes.
But Wu Daodao turned his head and scolded the woman, "What kind of madness possessed you? It’s one thing to fight and scold on normal days! But when my Junior Brother visits, you caused such an earth-shattering ruckus in the middle of the night, as if tearing down the house! How will others view our family?
My Junior Brother kindly came to rebuild the golden body for our sect and even donated more than a hundred thousand in charity! You..."
At this point, Wu Daodao turned to Chen Nuo and said earnestly, "Junior Brother! It’s all my fault, a thousand, ten thousand faults are mine! My wife has always been a bit eccentric, but she means no real harm. She didn’t truly want to hurt you!
Look... if you still harbor any anger, just take it out on me, your Senior Brother, alright?"
Chen Nuo sighed, looked into Wu Daodao’s eyes, and finally said with a bitter smile, "Forget it... After all, Sister-in-law did show mercy. I may have been startled, but luckily I’m not seriously injured.
Senior Brother, let’s put this matter behind us!"
Wu Daodao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The woman next to him, however, asked coldly, "How are things at home?"
"The protective arrays held; the house didn’t collapse!" Wu Daodao uncharacteristically talked back.
This time, Wu Daodao was genuinely furious. No matter how much he usually feared his wife or acted timidly.
But last night, the woman had gone too far! His Junior Brother had come to visit. Even if there was a misunderstanding in the middle of the night, she shouldn’t have struck with such lethal intent!
No matter how much he usually indulged his wife’s antics, Wu Daodao couldn’t sit by and ignore such a serious matter!
And precisely because his wife was his closest kin, he was even more worried she would cause a terrible disaster!
Confronted by Wu Daodao for the first time ever, the woman wasn’t actually angry. Instead, she stared deeply at him for a moment, a hint of a smile even touching her lips.
"It’s good that the house is alright. Mmm... You stay here and look after Junior Brother. Carry him back home once he can move later."
"Eh?" Wu Daodao was surprised to hear his wife speaking so gently and was momentarily stunned—after uttering that defiant remark, he had braced himself for a couple of kicks.
"I’m worried about the four children at home, so I’ll go back first."
After instructing Wu Daodao, the woman looked at Chen Nuo and said, "Junior Brother, we’ll see each other at home later.
You were injured and couldn’t move earlier. As a woman, it wasn’t appropriate for me to carry you back, so I called Old Wu to come find you.
Rest here for a while. I’ll go home and prepare some breakfast. When you feel better, come back and eat."
After saying this, the woman actually walked up to Wu Daodao.
Her expression was somewhat complex. After glancing at Wu Daodao, she suddenly lowered her head and softly spoke.
"I’m... I’m sorry, it was my fault."
"...Huh?" Wu Daodao stared, his eyes wide with disbelief. "???"
Having said that, the woman lowered her head and walked out, quickly disappearing into the woods.
"...Junior Brother! Help me up, quick, help me up!
Did I just hear that wrong?
That... that woman actually apologized to me?!"
Looking at Wu Daodao again, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but feel a surge of sympathy for this Senior Brother who always seemed to be muttering about something mystical.
Isn’t it so?
His own wife, who had shared his bed for many years, had been wanting to kill him every day and night...
How pitiable!
Senior Brother Wu must have had a very tough time over the years.
Wu Daodao helped Chen Nuo sit closer to the campfire.
It was already October, and the early mornings in the mountains were still somewhat damp and cold.
Warmed by the campfire, Chen Nuo felt the clothes on his chest dry out. Gradually, his spiritual power allowed him to control his body again, and he slowly adjusted his sitting posture.
The 7/17 progress indicated that his spiritual power recovery had quickened further.
"Junior Brother, about last night..."
Just as Wu Daodao seemed to want to explain something, Chen Nuo shook his head and said, "Senior Brother, there’s no need to discuss last night’s incident. Since it’s all out in the open, and Sister-in-law simply lost her temper and lashed out, let’s just leave it at that."
Evidently, Wu Daodao didn’t know his wife had been tormented by murderous thoughts daily for years—the woman herself hadn’t said anything, so there was no need for him to reveal it.
After they sat by the campfire for a while, Chen Nuo recalled what the woman had told him earlier, and a thought suddenly struck him.
"Senior Brother, can you tell me about your Qingyun Sect?"
"Hmm?" Wu Daodao raised his eyelids. "Why has Junior Brother suddenly taken an interest in my Qingyun Sect?"
Chen Nuo smiled. "Just suddenly curious."
Wu Daodao pondered for a moment and slowly said, "There’s nothing that can’t be said. Our sect has an ancient heritage. As for its origins, it shares common roots with Taoism and also has some connections with Buddhism and Confucianism."
Seeing Chen Nuo’s eyes widen, Wu Daodao shook his head. "It’s not about those mythological legends; you’re overthinking it.
It’s just that in our ancient Huaxia civilization, various schools of thought have historically influenced each other, becoming intertwined.
Our Qingyun Sect, having been passed down for thousands of years, has naturally become quite eclectic by now."
Chen Nuo nodded. "So... do you consider yourselves... a cultivation sect?"
Wu Daodao paused upon hearing this.
Then the fellow couldn’t help but laugh. "HAHAHA! Immortal cultivators? Junior Brother, your way of putting it is quite amusing.
We’ve merely inherited some wondrous secret arts from ancient times. As for achieving enlightenment and immortality through cultivation, that’s just something novelists made up."
"It’s not like..." Chen Nuo was about to make a comparison, then suddenly remembered it was only the year 2001.
Things like "Zhu Xian," or "A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality," none of these had appeared yet.
After thinking for a bit, he said, "What I mean is, like the cultivation sects in ’The Legend of the Swordsmen of Mount Shu’? You know, the Golden Core Stage, the Nascent Soul Stage..."
As he spoke, Chen Nuo casually mentioned some of the novels and cultivation systems he had read about in his previous life.
Wu Daodao blinked. "Forming a Golden Core? Cultivating a Nascent Soul?"
The guy pondered for a bit and then burst into loud laughter.
"My master died at sixty-one. Before his death, he was merely a bit sturdier and more agile than the average old man from the countryside. At sixty, he could still climb trees and get on roofs.
But so what? Old Cai, my neighbor at the foot of the mountain, lived until eighty-two."
"How did your master die?"
"Type 1 diabetes, congenital. As he aged, various complications arose, and eventually, he passed away," Wu Daodao shrugged.
Chen Nuo: "..."
Alright, it seems they were not a cultivation sect.
I’ve never heard of any cultivator dying from diabetes...
"Senior Brother, your wife’s abilities... within your Qingyun Sect, she must be the most formidable, right?"
"... Uh, that’s..." Wu Daodao was a bit embarrassed.
"I’m not asking about the present. I’m asking... going back several generations in your Qingyun Sect, my sister-in-law would still be considered a top figure, right?"
Wu Daodao thought about it and honestly nodded. "You’re not wrong. My wife is a bit eccentric, but her abilities are real.
When it comes to the sect’s ultimate techniques, she has truly reached the pinnacle in the art of attack and combat.
Junior Brother, I warned you yesterday never to provoke her. See? I wasn’t lying, was I?"
"I’ve truly experienced Sister-in-law’s formidable prowess this time," Chen Nuo nodded with a wry smile.
"I remember my master once said my wife’s talent was so profound that even he couldn’t fathom its depths.
If we look back...
While my master was alive, he said her achievements could be considered peerless in the Qingyun Sect for the past three hundred-odd years! She not only far surpassed my master, but even my grandmaster couldn’t compare to her.
For over three hundred years, she’s likely been the foremost figure in our sect."
Chen Nuo nodded upon hearing this. "Over three hundred years, huh...
Then what about more than three hundred years ago?"
"That would bring us to a legendary patriarch of our Qingyun Sect."
Wu Daodao pondered for a moment and slowly continued, "Over three hundred years ago, during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, our Qingyun Sect produced a peerless genius.
That patriarch hailed from our Qingyun Sect. He possessed extraordinary innate talent, outshining his contemporaries, and even created a set of unique techniques.
These techniques later became the cornerstone of our Qingyun Sect’s arts, specializing in the way of offense.
Unfortunately, for over three hundred years, none of the successive generations of disciples in the sect managed to master it.
Until our generation. My wife is the first in over three hundred years to have mastered that patriarch’s unique techniques."
Chen Nuo nodded. "Senior Brother, could you tell me about that patriarch?"
Wu Daodao looked deeply at Chen Nuo. "Why are you so curious about this patriarch?"
"Just curious," Chen Nuo replied, smiling without further explanation.
Wu Daodao considered it, then decided not to pursue any further questions.
"Speaking of that patriarch, his talent was naturally superb. The era when he served as Sect Leader was the most prosperous period in the history of our Qingyun Sect.
It was a time of great turmoil. First came the scourge of displaced people, then armies rampaging like locusts.
Later, the Manchus entered through the pass and seized the empire.
Those decades were immensely chaotic.
But that patriarch of our Qingyun Sect, having achieved great mastery in his divine arts and renowned in the jianghu, sheltered this region.
In those years, the surrounding region for miles was effectively under the influence of our Qingyun Sect.
Neither displaced people nor marauding soldiers brought disaster to our local area, thanks to that patriarch’s protection.
Later, to resist the Manchu Qing’s entry, that patriarch even used his jianghu prestige to raise a volunteer army..."
"And then?"
"Then..." Wu Daodao continued with a strange tone, "According to sect legend, that patriarch raised a volunteer army, connected with the remnants of the imperial court, and intended to serve the country by resisting the Tartar invaders... but suddenly, word spread of a terrifying great fiend endangering the world.
Our patriarch was invited by his jianghu peers to lend aid in exterminating this fiend.
After he departed, it is said the fiend perished under our patriarch’s peerless swordsmanship, but the patriarch himself was grievously wounded.
Upon returning to the sect, he left behind the Zhuxian Divine Sword that held sway over the world and his unparalleled swordsmanship. He passed away shortly thereafter, and the volunteer army he had raised vanished like smoke..."
Chen Nuo’s eyes flashed as he quickly asked, "That... what year was it?"
"This... I’d have to go back and check the sect’s records to be sure... I only read about these things when I was young, treating them as legends, and didn’t take them too seriously."
Wu Daodao said with a wry smile, "Although I’m a member of the Qingyun Sect, I also understand how things work in the jianghu.
Non-existent achievements are fabricated. Existing ones are exaggerated threefold to tenfold.
That patriarch’s genius was probably real.
To say he suppressed his era is likely just our sect embellishing its own history.
As for participating in the volunteer army, that probably happened.
But... to say he went out to execute a great fiend threatening the world... I’m afraid that’s just a fiction created by later generations in our sect.
In the late Ming and early Qing, what great fiend could have endangered the world?
Unless he went and assassinated the Tartar Emperor? But that’s not right either; the Tartar emperors weren’t assassinated.
So... after a lot of thinking...
I suspect later generations in the sect fabricated this to glorify and save face for this patriarch.
The truth is likely that the patriarch raised a volunteer army to resist the Manchus, but they were defeated and scattered.
Later generations likely concocted this story of him slaying a great fiend and dying in the process to cover his shame."
Chen Nuo, having heard this, didn’t argue, but simply smiled lightly. "I see... Thank you, Senior Brother, for satisfying my curiosity."
In the morning, Wu Daodao helped Chen Nuo back to the Qingyun Sect.
The courtyard was mostly cleaned up; the fallen osmanthus blossoms had been swept to a corner by the wall.
However, the osmanthus tree that the Qingyun Sect used to hide the ’Ancestral Master Sword’ was now in pieces.
But the eldest disciple, Tiezhu, had already carried the tree trunks to the woodshed behind the kitchen. It looked like he planned to chop them for firewood.
Upon returning, Wu Daodao couldn’t help but scold his disciple for such wastefulness.
"Such good wood, and you’re going to chop it up for firewood?
Later, find a carpenter, buy some tung oil, dry the wood, and apply the oil. It will make excellent timber. You could make half a set of furniture from it and sell it for a good price at the market!"
Tiezhu, having been scolded, said with a woeful face, "It wasn’t my idea... Mistress said to chop it for firewood."
Wu Daodao was stunned.
When he turned around, he saw his wife standing at the kitchen doorway, clutching a kitchen knife and looking at him.
"Uh... I didn’t mean..." Wu Daodao instinctively felt his legs go weak.
"Your master is right; I was inconsiderate," the woman said calmly to Tiezhu. "Do as your master says."
Having finished speaking, she nodded to Chen Nuo. "Junior Brother, you’re back. I’ve steamed some buns in the steamer and cooked some congee. Go wash your hands and wait at the table; I’ll bring it over shortly."
Watching the woman turn and enter the kitchen, Wu Daodao stood dumbfounded, but he pinched his own thigh hard, wincing in pain.
"HISS!!!"
"What’s wrong, Senior Brother?"
"It’s nothing, I’m just checking to see if I’m dreaming..." Wu Daodao looked in the direction of the kitchen, his gaze strange as he watched the familiar figure busying herself inside.
We’ve been married for so many years... She hasn’t been this agreeable and reasonable since the first few days of our marriage...
After breakfast, the four youngsters of the household were still somewhat perplexed by Chen Nuo’s return. They wondered how this guest, who had fought fiercely with their mistress last night, could now be sitting peacefully at the same table for a meal.
Especially Erya.
Situ Beixuan, who already knew Chen Nuo fairly well, sneakily pulled him aside and asked,
"Hey, Chen Scumbag, did you make peace with my mistress?"
"Has no one taught you any manners at your age? What did you call me? Address me with more respect!" Chen Nuo glared back.
"Alright then." Erya nodded.
"Uncle Chen Scumbag... were you beaten into submission by my mistress?"
"..."
However, being familiar with Erya wasn’t without its benefits.
After breakfast, Chen Nuo pretended to chat idly with Erya, then asked for her help to look at the sect’s records—specifically, the entries about that legendary patriarch.
Then, Chen Nuo received the piece of information he cared about most!
That legendary patriarch was born during the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty.
The time of death was...
The ninth year of the Yongli Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty!!
Chen Nuo glanced at his Nokia phone...
Sigh, how he missed the era of smartphones!
His current phone couldn’t even be used to look up information online.
He called Sun Keke and asked her to use the computer at home to look it up online.
In two minutes, Chen Nuo got the answer he wanted!
The ninth year of Yongli of Great Ming.
That is... the Gregorian year 1655!
During his trip to Brazil, before the battle with the Seed, in that ruin space...
Chen Nuo had a conversation with Davarishi where he learned important information about Mother from Vanel!
"... In 1655, a mysterious religion was discovered in a place in East Africa... capturing people from other tribes... sending them before their god, allowing the god to absorb the souls of the sacrifices..."
"Finding and eliminating Mother... our organization suffered immense losses! We lost three top-tier experts... I can assure you, those three seniors were all top-tier experts at the Controller level..."
1655!!
The ninth year of Yongli of the Great Ming Dynasty!
The contemporary Sect Leader and patriarch of Qingyun Sect, in order to exterminate the great fiend endangering the world, fought to the death, achieving his aim but perishing in the process! Before his death, he returned to the sect, left behind the divine sword and swordsmanship, and departed from this world...
So, that patriarch of the Qingyun Sect... was he one of the three Controller-level magnates who unfortunately perished in the 1655 battle to encircle and annihilate Mother?
Then, what about the killing intent within the swordsmanship?
According to Wu Daodao’s wife, that patriarch killed a fiend and then suppressed its spirit soul within the divine sword!
That means... the killing intent... is related to Mother!
Sitting in the Qingyun Sect’s courtyard, looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, Chen Nuo took a deep breath. He couldn’t resist quickly peeking into his own Consciousness Space...
That... "The Tree of Killing Intent"!
This thing seems to have a profound connection with the ’Tree of Misfortune,’ as if they share the same origin!
So... the Tree of Misfortune is the most powerful weapon against Mother!
Then where does the Tree of Killing Intent come from?
The first possibility: the Tree of Killing Intent was cultivated by the patriarch of Qingyun Sect himself! After all, as a powerful expert who cultivated the way of the sword and slaughter, it’s somewhat plausible that he might have inadvertently cultivated such a bizarre thing.
But... something about this doesn’t quite add up.
The second possibility: this Tree of Killing Intent was brought back from Mother after the patriarch and other experts joined forces to kill it! Not knowing how to handle it, the patriarch used a secret art to seal it within his divine sword...
This method is similar to how Chen Nuo sealed the ’Tree of Misfortune’ in his Consciousness Space.
Although it’s unknown exactly how the patriarch accomplished it—after all, sealing such an item for several hundred years is no small feat!
Both guesses are possible.
If I had to say which one it might be...
Chen Nuo personally leans towards the second one!
Because if it’s the first one, and the item was cultivated by the patriarch himself...
Just look at Wu Daodao’s wife and you’ll understand!
The patriarch who cultivated the Tree of Killing Intent is not recorded in his biography as a bloodthirsty person, nor is there any mention of him being tormented by killing intent.
On the contrary, sect records describe this patriarch as benevolent, magnanimous, and a gentleman as warm and lustrous as jade.
So... if it’s the second possibility, then this matter becomes even more complex.
Chen Nuo sighed.
Chen Nuo bid farewell to the Qingyun Sect in the afternoon and returned to Jinling City.
After half a day’s rest, his spiritual power had recovered considerably. Although not yet at its peak, it no longer hindered his normal activities.
Wu Daodao and his wife, along with their four young ones, saw him off at the gate.
But then the woman suddenly remembered something and called out, "Junior Brother, wait a moment."
With that, she turned and went back into the courtyard. Shortly afterwards, she emerged with a small wooden box and thrust it into Chen Nuo’s hands.
"I don’t know if giving this to you will be a blessing or a curse. However, Junior Brother, you share a significant karmic destiny with our Qingyun Sect. Therefore, it seems most appropriate to entrust this item to you."
Chen Nuo was about to open it when the woman shook her head. "It’s best to open it when you get back, and find a safe place when you do."
"...Alright."
Chen Nuo nodded and carefully slipped the item into his bosom.
「That night.」
Midnight. All was still and silent.
Everyone in the Qingyun Sect, young and old, was long asleep...
"Wu, stop playing dead! It’s been over half a month. Today, you’re delivering the ’grain,’ whether you want to or not!"
"...I have a headache..."
"I’ve got painkillers ready for you!"
"I twisted my back moving things during the daytime today..."
"I’ll personally give you a massage to loosen you up!"
"...I... It’s not that I don’t want to ’pay the grain’...! But every time we get halfway, you suddenly kick me off the bed, glaring like you want to kill me! Who the hell can stand that?!"
"...Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t hit you today."
"You say that every time... I’d be a fool to believe you!"
"Really!"
"I don’t believe you!"
"Then... use a rope and tie *me* up!"
"...Tie you up? WHOA! So stimulating! No, no! You’re so strong, even if I used cowhide ropes, you’d snap them with a single struggle!"
"...Take it! This is my Immortal-binding Rope! Use this to tie me, and I won’t be able to break free. That should put your mind at ease, right?"
"...WHOA! Immortal-binding Rope? Isn’t that even more... AHEM! What I mean is, this... isn’t quite appropriate, is it?"
"Just tie me if I tell you to! Wu Daodao, are you trying to get out of ’paying the grain’?! Or have you been secretly ’paying it’ elsewhere?!"
"You’re the one who asked me to tie you up..."
A moment later...
"Wu Daodao! You!!
I asked you to tie me, but you... what on earth have you tied me into!
Untie me! This is too shameful! Untie me now...
You... hurry up and untie me..."
"HEHEHE... HAHAHAHA..."