M49S Vol 1 Chapter 60. Condemned By Sin

Wuyan did not arrive alone.

He was dragged in, tightly bound, by five people dressed in mourning garb. They came from the opposite side of the lake’s dueling platform, just far enough to avoid detection by Wang Changlin’s men, and now stood in plain view before the crowd.

At this moment, those five were holding Wuyan at the center of the terrace, waiting for Wang Changlin to approach.

The gathered cultivators broke into murmurs. Many had already suspected that the truth behind “whether the Wang clan’s Third Elder was really Wuyan” was about to be revealed. But that did not stop them from drawing their own conclusions in advance.

And soon enough, they were shocked to discover that nearly seventy percent of those present believed the man before them was indeed Wuyan.

Zhong Wu shook his head and sighed.

“This Knock upon the Immortal Gate has been full of twists. Looks like the Wang clan has lost the hearts of the people.”

Zheng Cheng stood beside him in silence, his expression as cold as ever.

By now, Wang Changlin and the others had returned to the terrace.

The moment Wuyan saw Wang Changlin, he began to thrash violently. The burly middle-aged man beside him stepped forward and kicked him square in the chest, forcing him to the ground. Afterward, he turned to face Wang Changlin.

“Clan Leader Wang, I think you owe us an explanation. Why is it that Wuyan, a notorious criminal we’ve searched for tirelessly over the years, has become your clan’s Third Elder?”

“Yes, tell us,” shouted an elderly woman beside him. “This man who took my son’s life—why is he honored as an elder in your clan?”

The hatred blazing from her clouded eyes was almost tangible. Her voice was rough and sand-scraped, like wind from beyond the borders, and each word carried blood and grief.

“Speak! Why aren’t you answering?”

“We spent ten years searching for him,” she went on. “Wandering, suffering, and finding nothing. And yet he’s been living in your Wang manor, well-fed and untouched. Wang Changlin, where is your conscience?”

The accusations came like crashing waves, giving Wang Changlin no room to breathe. He had weathered countless storms in his life, but even he could not remain composed under such public condemnation.

“Enough!” cried one of the Wang clan’s elders, trying to stop them.

But that single shout was like water thrown into boiling oil. It only made the backlash worse.

“So you still refuse to admit it?” The burly man’s voice was low and cold. His eyes stayed locked on Wang Changlin. “Wuyan has already been dragged here, and you still want to deny it?”

Wang Ziqian stepped forward. He clenched his fists and forced himself to stay calm.

“You claim he’s Wuyan. Where is your proof?”

“Proof? Look closely.”

As he spoke, the man tore open the back of Wuyan’s robes, exposing a brand seared into his flesh.

It was a single, massive character. Death.

A cultivator in the crowd suddenly recalled an old rumor from beyond the borders.

“They say that before Wuyan disappeared, he was captured by the City Lord of Pingcheng outside the pass. The story goes that the lord branded him with a death mark on his back, intending to execute him. But in the end, Wuyan managed to escape.”

The burly man gave a cold snort.

“I am Zhao Jue of Pingcheng’s city guard. I have never changed my name, whether seated or standing. If anyone doubts me, you’re welcome to verify it in Pingcheng. This man committed unspeakable crimes beyond the pass, and later came to Pingcheng and slaughtered countless young girls. Among them was my younger sister. Even if he turned to ashes, I would still recognize him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the other four stepped forward to identify themselves. All of them were from beyond the pass. Each of them had a relative who had died at Wuyan’s hands, and they had followed his trail all the way here.

One by one, they began to list Wuyan’s crimes. Each one more horrifying than the last, enough to make the blood run cold. The atrocities were too many to count. Many cultivators listening felt their outrage surge, wishing they could execute Wuyan on the spot. Even the most stone-hearted among them could not help but look away.

The call for punishment grew louder and more frenzied.

It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over Wang Changlin’s head. His mind cleared in an instant.

He could not allow this to continue. Wuyan had to die.

But with so many people present, he would not have the chance to kill him with a single strike. And if he failed, Wuyan might expose the Wang clan to save himself.

He could not let Wuyan go down in flames and drag the rest of them with him. He had to give him hope, make him believe the secret would be safe if he stayed silent. Then, once he brought him back to the Wang manor, he could kill him quietly, leaving no trace behind.

There was no other way.

Wang Changlin made up his mind. While quietly signaling his subordinates to find the Grand Elder at once, he put on a look of grief and raised his voice.

“Everyone, please, stay calm!”

His voice rang out, forcibly suppressing the noise around him. Then, as if making a heavy decision, he suddenly bowed deeply to the five who had brought Wuyan in. When he straightened again, his expression was somber.

“Things have reached this point. I have nothing left to say. This man, Wuyan, came to the Wang clan under false pretenses. He hid his identity, acted courteous, and offered many rare treasures, saying he had come upon them by chance and feared others would covet them. He asked for the clan’s protection and presented himself as kind and upright. None of us realized he was such a monstrous criminal. I do not dare to excuse this failure to see through his deceit. I am deeply ashamed.”

“Clan Leader Wang, that doesn’t sound quite right.”

Meng Qiqi stepped forward from the crowd, his tone light, almost amused, as he looked at Wang Changlin.

“And may I ask,” Wang Changlin said, already wary, “what Little Martial Uncle Meng believes is wrong about it?”

Meng Qiqi’s expression turned cold. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Wuyan, countless thoughts flickering through his mind.

Wuyan feared death, but he was also the kind of man who could risk it all when cornered. He knew his only hope lay with Wang Changlin, which was why he held on to silence and refused to name the clan.

Meng Qiqi could have killed him right then and there. But what he wanted was not Wuyan’s death. It was evidence against the Wang clan.

If he wanted to pin the Wang clan to the pillar of guilt, he needed Wuyan to speak up, here and now. Because he had no other proof.

“Clan Leader Wang, you’re saying you had no suspicions about the treasures Wuyan presented?” Meng Qiqi asked calmly. “Others may not have recognized those items, but a man of your experience and knowledge, how could you not?”

The cultivators looked at one another.

At first, none of them had believed that the Wang clan would shelter someone like Wuyan. After all, it was the Wang clan. How could they have made such a colossal mistake?

But now that Meng Qiqi had pointed it out, things started to feel off.

“That’s right. A complete outsider becomes the Third Elder? And no one thought to investigate him thoroughly?”

“Something smells fishy…”

“It may not have been Wang Changlin himself, but someone must have sheltered him deliberately. Otherwise, how could Wuyan have remained hidden in the Wang clan for ten years?”

Voices rose all around, and among them were those quick of thought. Some suddenly recalled the first time Wuyan’s name had been mentioned—wasn’t it Meng Qiqi who had dragged it into the open?

Wang Changlin spoke coldly.

“What are you implying, Meng Xiu? Are you accusing me of shielding Wuyan? Can you take responsibility for your words?”

Meng Qiqi narrowed his eyes.

“I’m only raising a question. If you are truly innocent, why act like a guilty man?”

“And do you have any proof?” Wang Changlin took a step forward. A wave of pressure swept toward Meng Qiqi.

“If you have any evidence of collusion between me and Wuyan, I will submit myself to whatever judgment you choose.”

Wang Changlin’s tone was firm, so firm that it almost made one wonder if he truly knew nothing. He was demanding proof from Meng Qiqi, knowing full well that Meng Qiqi had none.

So long as Meng Qiqi could not produce evidence, he would be safe. And once that was certain, everything else would be easy.

Wang Changlin seized the moment.

“I understand your doubts. It’s only natural. If I were in your place, I would be suspicious too. But I ask that you give me a chance to prove my innocence. Let me take Wuyan back with me and confront everyone in the manor one by one. If anyone in the clan sheltered him, I will personally root them out and punish them as a warning to others.”

“No.” Zhao Jue stepped forward and stood firmly in front of Wuyan, shielding him without the slightest wavering in his stance. His refusal was absolute.

He cupped his fists and looked off toward the horizon.

“Before leaving Pingcheng, the City Lord told me that if we ran into trouble, we were to seek out Meng Xiu of Gushan Sword. Gushan has always been a proper sword sect, known for handling matters with fairness. If not for Cultivator Meng’s help, we would never have made it to Jinling alive. We trust him, and only him.”

After that, Zhao Jue’s tone shifted.

“If you insist on taking Wuyan away, how do we know you aren’t trying to protect him?”

Wang Changlin had already suspected that Meng Qiqi was behind all of this. But many of the young cultivators present had not understood the deeper conflict until now. It was only when Zhao Jue explained the background that they finally grasped what had happened.

No wonder Meng Qiqi had risked offending the Wang clan just to expose Wuyan. And now, he was even standing against Wang Changlin directly. Wuyan had no connection to Gushan Sword, yet Meng Qiqi had still chosen to act.

That kind of righteousness was rare, and deserved respect.

He truly lived up to the title of Gushan Sword’s Little Martial Uncle. Zhou Ziheng had once been like this too, traveling the land to confront injustice, never backing down.

The way people looked at Meng Qiqi began to change.

If before they had seen him as arrogant and unruly, now they quietly wrapped him in the mantle of righteousness and courage.

In a shadowed corner, Guiluoluo watched with an ever-widening smile. This little Mad Dog had grown up. Still just as wild, but far more interesting.

“Father…”

Wang Ziqian edged closer to Wang Changlin. He was still only fourteen. Faced with one upheaval after another, it was no surprise that he had begun to panic. The two of them stood side by side, one solemn, the other anxious, and in front of the five pressing accusers, they looked uncharacteristically weak.

Not far away, Elder San from Ruizhu had worn a frown from the start. She was Xu Mengyin’s master and the elder martial sister of Wang Changlin’s wife. Until now, she had kept silent to avoid appearing biased.

But when she saw the worry in Wang Ziqian’s eyes, she finally sighed inwardly and stepped forward.

“Everyone, this matter must be investigated thoroughly. To say that Clan Leader Wang deliberately harbored someone as vile as Wuyan and even allowed him to become the Third Elder is something I cannot believe.”

She looked at Meng Qiqi.

“Cultivator Meng, would you do me this favor? Let us bring Wuyan back to the Wang manor together. We will uncover the truth, and see this matter through to the end. What do you say?”

Elder San only wished to give Wang Changlin a chance to prove his innocence. It could not be considered shielding him. And given her familial ties to Wang Changlin, her words were not unreasonable.

But Meng Qiqi had no interest in such social obligations.

“I understand your meaning, Elder San,” he said, “but I cannot agree. Today, no one from the Wang clan will take Wuyan from my hands. If I allow that, I will have failed the souls who died at his hands, betrayed the teachings of my sect, and brought shame upon heaven and earth.”

His words were steady and upright. Facing the weight of so many eyes, he did not waver in the slightest.

Wang Changlin fixed his gaze on him and said in a low voice, “You had them bring Wuyan to me, but now you refuse to let him return to the manor for questioning. Are you trying to throw this accusation onto me without proof, Meng Xiu?”

Elder San, startled for a moment, spoke up as well.

“He’s right. If we truly want to get to the bottom of this, we cannot avoid involving the Wang clan.”

Master Kongming gave the matter a brief thought, then said, “Why don’t we each send a few representatives to watch over Wuyan together? That way we can ensure no one rescues him and still carry out a fair investigation. What do you think?”

The suggestion quickly gained support from all sides.

But Meng Qiqi still had not given his answer.

He remained silent, as if weighing his options. Everyone waited for his reply.

Just then, Meng Qiqi caught a glimpse of a familiar figure stepping out from the tower. The two exchanged a subtle glance. A moment later, Meng Qiqi respectfully nodded toward Master Kongming.

“I trust Master Kongming,” he said.

This small concession allowed Wang Changlin to breathe a long sigh of relief.

But the next voice that rang out made his heart sink.

Jin Man stepped out of the tower, his face frosted with cold.

“Everyone, I suggest we set the matter of Wuyan aside for now. The cause of Jiang Xie’s death has been determined, and I believe the disciples of Beidou would very much like to ask Clan Leader Wang why traces of the Wang clan’s unique vital force imprint were found inside Jiang Xie’s body.”

“What are you implying?”

Alarms blared in Wang Changlin’s mind. But with just two sentences, Jin Man had stirred a storm in the hearts of everyone present.

“There was a Wang clan vital force imprint in Jiang Xie’s body… does that mean…”

“Someone from the Wang clan killed him?”

Clearing one’s name was always harder than framing another. Wang Changlin was confident he had left behind no trace. Yet Jin Man spoke with such certainty, it made even him begin to doubt himself.

But that was impossible.

He had taken care of it personally. There was no way he could have left behind any evidence.

Just then, Xiao Xiao stepped out from the tower.

“We just finished the examination. There is indeed a unique vital force imprint from the Wang clan inside Jiang Xie’s body.”

If Jin Man’s words had only stirred suspicion, then Xiao Xiao’s statement gave it concrete support.

And then, as if to push things further, Guiluoluo wandered out of the tower and added with a completely straight face. “That’s right. He’s telling the truth.”

Three voices made a truth. That was all it took to turn doubt into conviction.

The Holy Sovereign’s voice rang out, sharp and mocking. She slowly shook her head, half sighing, half sneering.

“To think that the prestigious Wang clan of Langya would be so full of filth. Truly, this has been… an eye-opener.”

Her scorn landed like a slap across every face.

No one gave a thought to why she was still here. They felt only a mounting shame and fury.

If this were to spread through the Holy Sovereign’s mouth, what standing would any of them have left to call themselves righteous? And Wang Changlin, who had caused it all, would be remembered as a sinner for generations.

“Wang Changlin, why did you kill my senior brother!”

The disciples of Beidou were overwhelmed with grief and rage. They hated themselves for not seeing his true face sooner. With Jiang Xie’s brutal death and Yu Yao’s disappearance, they had already been pushed to the brink. Now, all their emotions poured out onto Wang Changlin without restraint.

“Stop slandering my father!” Wang Ziqian stepped forward to defend him, and the Wang clan members all raised their voices in protest. But at this point, no amount of denial could be taken as anything but excuses.

Wang Ziqian’s face went pale.

He knew the truth. Jiang Xie had been killed by his father. He was not like Wang Changlin. He had no such certainty that nothing could be traced back to them. With Jin Man and Xiao Xiao speaking so confidently, and others confirming it, the outcome now seemed inevitable.

He stared at the mouths opening and closing around him. It felt like being carved apart, one cut at a time.

At the same time, Meng Qiqi stepped back and crouched in front of Wuyan. He pulled out the cloth stuffed in his mouth and placed a blood-stained longevity locket into his chest. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he said, “Wang Changlin killed your son. Now he’s killed Jiang Xie. Tell me… do you think you’ll be the next?”

Meng Qiqi let out a low laugh. His voice carried the cold cruelty of the King of Hell whispering before the moment of judgment.
He was smiling, a smile so vicious and poisonous that even Wuyan could not stop himself from trembling.

In that instant, he understood that he would never escape this man. Wang Changlin would never let him go. He had already killed his only son, what else would he hesitate to do?

The more Wuyan thought, the deeper he spiraled into madness.

He gasped for breath like a drowning man who had just caught hold of driftwood, only to be slammed under by the next wave. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Wang Changlin and refused to let go.

Snap.

Meng Qiqi seemed to hear the sound of a heartstring breaking. To him, it was a beautiful sound.

“Wang Changlin, may you die a miserable death!”

His time in captivity had long stripped away his pride. All that had kept him going was a sliver of hope. Now that hope was gone, but he had no intention of dying alone.

“Wang Changlin, if I die today, you won’t walk away either. When I first hid in the Wang clan…”

In a split second, a flash of cold light burst from behind, stabbing straight for Wuyan’s back.

Meng Qiqi reacted immediately. He kicked Wuyan aside and drew Xiujian, intercepting the blow.

Wuyan lay on the ground, coughing as he clutched his chest. He scrambled to look up, trying to see who had blocked the attack for him, but before he could make it out, two more streaks of sword light shot in from both sides.

Panic surged in him. He could not dodge to the right, nor to the left, and it was already too late to retreat.

Just as the blades were about to reach him, Xiao Xiao and Qing Gu sprang from the crowd and threw themselves in front of him.

Clang!

The sound of blades colliding rang out again and again, drawing cries of alarm from everywhere.

Master Kongming and the others acted at once, attempting to stop Wang Jing. But Wang Jing was like a madman, charging at Wuyan with reckless abandon.

Wuyan’s pupils contracted. Wang Jing truly meant to kill him. He stumbled and twisted his body to avoid the strike while shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Wang Jing, you old bastard! You were the one who let me into the Wang clan in the first place, the one who promised me the position of Third Elder! Don’t you dare pretend otherwise!”

Wang Jing’s eyes bulged with fury. He unleashed a burst of power unlike anything before, violently breaking through the defenses of Master Kongming, Meng Qiqi, and the others. His sword drove forward, the tip almost piercing Wuyan’s brow.

“Xiao Yu’er!” Meng Qiqi shouted.

As soon as the shout rang out, a feathered arrow tore through the air and struck Wang Jing’s sword with a sharp clang. But the blade in Wang Jing’s hand had been swung with everything he had. Xiao Yu’er’s arrow managed to deflect it slightly, but it was not enough to remove the threat entirely.

On the other side, Wang Changlin made his move as well. This was a life-and-death battle. No one could afford even a moment’s hesitation.

Meng Qiqi turned away from Wang Jing and stepped in to block Wang Changlin. At the same moment, Chen Boyan’s sword, Wuwang, swept past Wuyan’s forehead and, in the final instant, blocked Wang Jing’s full-force strike.

The lightning-fast clash had everyone on edge. Before they could even catch their breath, Jin Man flung out the silk threads coiled between his fingers, sending them whipping toward Wang Changlin from sharp and unpredictable directions.

Everything was happening too quickly. Dai Xiaoshan and the others finally registered what was unfolding and raised their swords to join the fray.

In the distance, Guiluoluo stood with arms crossed, watching it all play out. His eyes settled on Meng Qiqi, and he could not help licking the corner of his mouth. He had a sense of what Meng Qiqi was planning. After all, on his way here, he had just so happened to run into Zhao Jue’s group.

At the time, they had been heading toward the center of the lake under escort when they clashed with the Wang clan’s guards. Guiluoluo, already displeased with the Wang clan, stepped in to help. Judging by their techniques, he suspected those people were under the Holy Sovereign’s command. Every move they used followed the style of Cangtian.

When Wang Jing appeared, he was already wounded. He hadn’t been at the dueling platform earlier, so he must have run into those people on his way over.

Now, it all depended on how Meng Qiqi chose to end things.

Guiluoluo narrowed his eyes slightly, interest flickering across his face.

Meng Qiqi had already extracted himself from the chaos.

Chen Boyan now held off Wang Jing. Jin Man blocked Wang Changlin. The rest of the Wang clan’s people were kept in check by Master Kongming and the others. Wuyan remained on his knees in disgrace, spewing accusation after accusation at Wang Jing without pause.

The stage was set. It was time to kill.

Meng Qiqi sheathed Xiujian and drew his ring-hilted saber, the blade he reserved for beheading.

He walked toward Wuyan.

But Wuyan’s eyes were fixed only on Wang Jing. Even Wang Changlin no longer held his attention. All the riches, all the glory of the past ten years, had all been given to him by Wang Jing. It was Wang Jing who had sent people all the way to Pingcheng to rescue him and bring him into the Wang clan.

Wuyan might have deserved to die a hundred times over, but someone like Wang Jing, a sanctimonious hypocrite hiding behind the mask of righteousness, deserved it even more. And now he even wanted to kill him in public? As if it would be that easy.

Meng Qiqi could read the madness in his eyes. He shook his head with a quiet sigh. All around them, blades and swords flashed without pause, but he stood at the center of the chaos, steady and unshaken.

“Grand Elder Wang,” Meng Qiqi suddenly turned, smiling as he looked toward Wang Jing, “weren’t you just about to kill Wuyan to silence him?”

Wang Jing was being pressed back step by step by Chen Boyan and had no chance to answer. His eyes were locked on Meng Qiqi, wide and fierce. He dared not let his breath falter, or Chen Boyan might drive his sword through his chest.

So all he could do was stand there and watch as Wuyan screamed and cursed.
And then, he watched as Meng Qiqi raised his saber and brought it down with full force.

The blade fell.

A severed head rolled across the ground. Blood sprayed across the terrace stones, staining the earth. The eyes on that head stared at Wang Jing, wide open in death, unwilling to close.

Silence.

The entire dueling platform fell into stillness. Swords and sabers froze in midair.

No one had expected Meng Qiqi to kill the moment he said he would. It was swift. It was final.

A gasp came from the crowd.

Zhao Jue and the others, however, could barely contain their joy.

Wuyan was dead. The man they had chased for ten years was finally gone.

Meng Qiqi flicked the blood from his blade and, without pausing, walked straight toward Wang Jing.

Xu Mengyin stared at him, her face pale, her throat tightening.

“What is he trying to do?”

No one could answer her. Those who had guessed the truth dared neither speak nor move.

At this moment, Meng Qiqi seemed unstoppable. No man nor ghost could stand in his way.

“No!”

From within the crowd, Wang Ziqian broke through in a panic, rushing forward to block him.

Master Kongming, the elder in the straw hat, and the others were just as alarmed and moved to intervene, but they quickly realized that it was too late.

The disciples of Gushan Sword had already formed an impenetrable wall around Meng Qiqi, holding the line without a single break.

Inside that wall stood Meng Qiqi and Wang Jing, who had just been forced back by a single strike from Chen Boyan.

Tu Youqiong had no idea what Little Martial Uncle was planning to do, but his instincts still led him to stand behind Meng Qiqi.

Their master had said that no matter the time, the place, or the danger faced, Gushan Sword disciples must always share life and death together.

That teaching was carved into the hearts of every disciple.

And so, with all eyes upon him, Meng Qiqi raised his hand and summoned his natal sword. With a single strike, he drove it straight into Wang Jing’s dantian. The scream that followed tore through the lake’s still air, so sharp it made the scalp prickle.

Wang Ziqian came to a sudden halt. He dropped to his knees, stunned, watching as Wang Jing collapsed to the ground. Not a single drop of blood spilled, yet his body withered at once like a dead tree struck down by winter.

Wang Jing was not dead, but he was crippled.

Meng Qiqi looked up.

“Wuyan’s crimes were monstrous and deserved death. Wang Jing, unable to distinguish right from wrong and complicit in corruption, has had his dantian destroyed as a warning to others. Does anyone here object?”