Picking Up Attributes In Martial World

Chapter 188: The Perpetrator

Ye Jun stopped walking for a second.

He had almost forgotten about it, about the assassination attempt, the man he had let live just long enough to extract information, the loose thread he had left hanging as his Ascension swallowed everything else.

It had drifted to the back of his mind under the weight of nine Tribulations and Memory Trials, and it had stayed there, quiet and forgotten, while the rest of his life burned through itself.

He felt a quiet flicker of gratitude that the Third Seat hadn’t forgotten about it.

"That was fast work." he admitted.

"It wasn’t easy," the Third Seat said. "But you made it personal enough that I figured I’d owe it to both of us to see it through."

Ye Jun smiled faintly.

He had a long habit of finishing what other people started against him, and an even longer habit of making sure the people who started things didn’t get to walk away from them. Leaving an enemy alive was the kind of mistake that came back wearing a different face. He preferred not to leave them.

He asked, curious to know his enemy, "Who is he?"

The Third Seat glanced at him sideways, then shook his head slightly. "Better if you see him yourself. I think you’ll like to make the introduction in person."

Ye Jun raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling the man already knew his reaction was going to be loud, and didn’t want to spoil it. ’The hell, since when did this guy become so dramatic?’

In the end, he sighed. "Lead the way."

They walked together up the mountain path, the night cool and quiet around them. Ye Jun didn’t ask any further questions. He had spent too many years in too many of his own lives learning that the wait before knowing was almost always more useful than the knowing itself, since it gave him time to settle into whatever frame of mind the answer was going to demand.

The Law Enforcement Hall sat at the second highest peak of the White Gale Pavilion, a heavy black stone fortress with the Pavilion’s wind-glyph etched above its entrance. The lanterns along its outer wall burned with the steady Qi-fed flames that the Hall preferred, the kind that didn’t flicker no matter what storms came through. Two guards at the gate bowed lightly to the Third Seat and let them pass without question.

The Third Seat led him through the entrance hall, past the records corridor, and down a narrower staircase that descended below the ground floor. The air grew cooler with each step, the lantern light sparser, the walls bare of decoration. Ye Jun knew this part of the building only by reputation, as the Hall didn’t bring most prisoners down here.

At the bottom of the staircase stood a heavy iron door, reinforced with formation runes that hummed faintly against his Soul Sense.

The Third Seat pushed it open.

The room beyond was very simple, with a stone floor, stone walls, and a single iron pillar in the center, sunk deep into the floor. A figure was bound against it, head bowed forward, dark hair fallen across his face.

The Third Seat stepped aside to give Ye Jun a clear view.

Ye Jun looked at the bound figure, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Feng Hui!"

Indeed, the person tied to the iron pillar was none other than his Senior Feng Hui, ranked 45th on the Tempest Gale Rankings. The same person who tried to rag on new disciples, but Ye Jun had humiliated him that day.

Feng Hui raised his head upon hearing the voices and his eyes shook upon seeing Ye Jun. A sense of dread flashed in those black orbs before being replaced by anger.

He squirmed in his chains and screamed, "It’s because of you! I’m in this situation because of you."

"Oh, shut it," the Third Seat scoffed. "Did you really think you could get away after trying to kill your fellow disciple? Do you know the punishment for such a crime? Death by execution before the sect."

"He broke the traditions!" Feng Hui protested. "He disrespected his seniors and I couldn’t do anything because of your damn rules. You forced my hand. I had no other choice but to kill him outside."

He glared at the Third Seat, anger seething in his voice. "Had you allowed me to teach this insolent brat a lesson, I wouldn’t have done that. So this crime is on you and the sect itself."

"How petty," Ye Jun commented, slowly stepping forward. "You even sacrificed your career just to take revenge on your humiliation. Did I become your Heart Demon or what?"

"You!!" Feng Hui gritted his teeth and spat out, "You weren’t meant to survive at all, but I guess being a kept-in boy of the Song Clan has some privileges. Without that, you’re nothing!"

Ye Jun blinked in surprise before glancing back at the Third Seat. "How long has he been here?"

"I captured him before you began your Ascension," the Third Seat responded casually. "That’s why he doesn’t know."

"Doesn’t know what?" Feng Hui asked in confusion.

Ye Jun smiled and came right before him. "I Ascended to Soul Tempering Realm with Nine Tribulations, aka Purple Tribulation."

A shock ran through Feng Hui’s eyes along with a faint realization. Then, he muttered, "Impossible! You’re lying to mock me!"

Ye Jun chuckled softly and then slapped his face with less than half his strength, but that alone was enough to almost shatter his jaw. He had a higher cultivation base than him, after all.

He grabbed Feng Hui’s jaw and made him look into his eyes filled with cold murder, his voice going low. "Enough playing around. Now tell me the truth, why did you try to assassinate me?"

"I just told you," Feng Hui said after a moment of daze. "You humiliated me! You broke traditions!"

"What are you trying to do?" the Third Seat asked, confused by his actions. "Everything is clear."

"Except, it isn’t," Ye Jun mumbled before kicking Feng Hui’s belly, making him spit out blood. "I’m telling you, this is your last opportunity to tell me everything, otherwise you’ll pray for an easy death. Who gave you the orders?"

"I-I don’t know what you’re talking about," Feng Hui tried to reply between his coughs. "I’m saying the truth!"

Ye Jun smiled hearing that, but there was no mirth in his eyes. He raised Feng Hui’s head and said, "I don’t like torturing people, but sick bastards like you force my hand."

"Enough!" the Third Seat came in between them and pushed Ye Jun back. "I cannot allow you to torture our prisoners. That’s against the laws. You punching him is already pushing it."

Ye Jun straightened up, his mood shifting back to relaxed as he smiled and said, "Then, please, would you be kind enough to get the truth out of him?"

"I still don’t understand where your suspicion is coming from," the Third Seat said. "But I’ll trust your judgment for the moment. I do need an explanation though."

"For one, my instincts are telling me something is wrong with this whole thing," Ye Jun shrugged. "And they’ve never been wrong. Never. I trust them with my life, so I trust that something fishy is going on here."

He circled around and continued, "Secondly, Feng Hui doesn’t strike me as that kind of person. Call it a hunch, but it’s too stupid even for him. And I also saw fear in his eyes the moment I walked here."

He turned around to face the Third Seat and smiled. "Lastly, I saw realization in his eyes when I talked about my Ascension. Weird, isn’t it?"

Sighing, he went back to his position and added, "I know they aren’t enough for you, but they’re enough for me to assume there’s something else going on here."

The Third Seat continued to stare at him for over a minute, contemplating something silently, and Ye Jun was a man of patience, so he just stood there waiting for him.

"Alright," the Third Seat said, glancing at Feng Hui. "The Law Enforcement Hall has many Artefacts to bring the truth out of these prisoners. Usually, we don’t use them as it affects their Soul but..."

It was as if lightning had struck Feng Hui, his face twisted in horror and dread as he tried to say something, "N-No. Please, no. My f-family....they..."

Before he could even finish his words, his eyes went blank and his body turned limp as it slumped down on the chains. And his breathing stopped as well.

The Third Seat was the first to react quickly, but even he couldn’t save Feng Hui. He just stood there, checking on Feng Hui and wondering if there were any Pills that could work on him.

"Don’t bother, Senior. You know the truth already."

The Third Seat sighed hearing the calm voice of Ye Jun. "You knew this would happen, right?"

"Nope! Not really," Ye Jun shook his head. "But I had a clue. As I said, something fishy is going on here and if someone powerful is involved in this matter...then it makes perfect sense for them to erase all the evidence."