Torsten Hewson
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Epilogue: Butterfly's Wings
🕑 Added 2023-02-09 06:42:24 +0000 UTCHuan Chen of the Shrouded Mountain Sect stood at attention with several of his fellow disciples under the intense gaze of Elder Zang Zeng.
They were in a manor in Green Stone Forest. They had obeyed the orders for Elder Zang to come here, on one of the resource gathering missions to the Poison Jadepillar Forest for more reagents that the Inquisitors needed… but something here was strange. Elder Zang should have left them all to it, but instead he had called them all before him.
Chen could see it in his fellows’ eyes, but none dared to speak when the Elder was directly observing them.
The man was measuring them, he knew. Weighing them, to see if they were wanting.
Eventually, the Elder was satisfied.
“We are part of a grand undertaking here, Disciples.” The imposing Elder declared. “You all know of the upheaval in the Sect; that which consumed our Inquisitors and other Elders. The imposition on all of our lives and cultivations we have suffered.”
There was a soft murmuring at the words. The extra steps to get into the mountain were tedious, and submitting oneself to the Inquisitors stole hours that were better spent cultivating. As far as Chen knew, the veiled bastards hadn’t found anything on any disciple so far.
And they were still pushing for more restrictions, the bastards.”
“It was all in service of a lie. Someone is toying with our Shrouded Mountain Sect.”
There was a gasp at his words. Who would dare to attack the Shrouded Mountain Sect?! There had been some rumors about a scuffle in the Azure Hills, but nothing conclusive.. And those who had been there refused to talk.
“Who could fool the Elders?” one man beside Chen asked, and Elder Zang snorted.
“Shenhe has the blood of her Aunt running through her veins. The fool Wen was beguiled by a fox, and so too is Shenhe prone to being led astray. Elder Chongyun is overly cautious by nature, and he jumps at shadows.” Elder Zang stated bluntly. No one else would dare insult other Elders so, but he did it out of hand. He was, after all, part of the main Zang family.
There was more murmuring, and Chen nodded in agreement at the Elder’s words. Elder Shenhe’s deeds, while meritorious, were all done to rid the stain of her blood, and Elder Chongyun’s nature was well known. Some spoke well of his reserved nature, while others derided it. The rest of the Elders were in Closed Door Cultivation. If Elder Shenhe had truly been led astray, and Elder Chongyun had been convinced…
The muttering solidified into agreement then rage. Chen himself was furious. Somebody had actually managed to slap them in the face like this?! The Elder’s face was grimly impassive.
“Someone has insulted the heroic bloodline of the Zang Clan, and all the Shrouded Mountain Sect with their deeds. Someone, or something, is trying to orchestrate our downfall, and they shall answer for their crimes—I have chosen you to aid me in this matter for your discretion and skill. You shall aid me in obtaining justice.”
The disciples stood up straighter. “Yes, Elder Zang!” they shouted as one.
“Good. Prepare yourselves for a journey, disguise yourself to remain anonymous. There is something powerful that we are hunting, and I will not have it alerted. We shall complete our task in this forest… and then take a detour on our return. We shall be heading into the Azure Hills.”
“Yes, Elder Zang!” they roared as one.
The Azure Hills… That filthy place? How disgusting, but if they had attacked the Shrouded Mountain Sect, he would scour the place from top to bottom. The Elder had commanded and he was to be obeyed.
Chen glanced back to where the honoured Elder was standing, glaring at a map—when someone else caught his eye. A veiled woman was sitting primly on a chair in the corner, he could just make out the little smile she had on her face.
Chen shrugged and got back to work.
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“I shall return as soon as I am able, Junior Brother.” Lu Ri informed Jin as he stood across from the young man at the gate to his home. “I have to report my mission’s completion, and Master Shen’s orders, but that should not take long.”
He would also have to retrieve a better scroll on warding. The rudimentary ones here were good enough to delay most things, but Master Shen had demanded the best quality for his grandson; quality the Cloudy Sword Sect would provide.
“We’ll see you soon, then, Senior Brother.” The man said, reaching forward to clasp forearms in a more informal style. Lu Ri was a bit surprised, but quite pleased his Junior thought so highly of him.
“Thank you for teaching me that spear style; I have a long way to go, but I’ll get better!” Hong Meiling said with a little grin.
Lu Ri nodded at the woman. She was an interesting student, even if she wasn’t really his disciple. She was raw and unrefined—but she had superb instincts. Lu Ri could easily imagine her, in another life, walking the path of a powerful wandering cultivator. “Oh! And I made you some maple fudge for the road!”
But naturally, her current life was the best for her. “Thank you, Hong Meiling. I shall treasure this.”
Both of them smiled as Wa Shi approached next and gifted Lu Ri with his refined tea formula. Lu Ri carefully stored both treasures and then set about his business, traveling back to the Sect.
The transition from the Qi oasis to the Qi desert got less harsh every time Lu Ri felt it. He traveled along the road and past Verdant Hill with a small, satisfied smile on his face.
Lu Ri… Lu Ri could safely say he had immensely enjoyed his time here. The Lord Magistrate especially was a treasure beyond compare, one that didn’t even have to be cultivated or guided to bring out his full potential. Already he had started classifying every house in his domain, and his work on the “postal codes” were sublime. Lu Ri had expected some pushback from the citizenry, at having to learn something new, but when they were informed about the changes even the least pleasant peasant would shrug and say, “Well, if the Lord Magistrate said so, it's obviously a good idea.”
The Honoured Founders were right. The Virtuous Path was the truest path to power!
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“Damn the Shrouded Mountain Sect,” a voice snarled. Yulong, who had been walking through the corpses of the destroyed base, turned to his subordinate. The man’s teeth were bared in a snarl.
It was easy to see why. Yulong felt the same dull rage as his subordinate at witnessing the carnage. The bodies were blacked, and there were massive pock marks through the reinforced walls, proof of the lightning’s fury that had been sent against this base.
All of it was the work of Zang Shenhe of the Shrouded Mountain Sect. The woman was on the warpath, tearing through the mountains to find anything at all that could be considered Demonic. Several hidden bases and processing plants had been found already, their only saving grace was that she hopefully hadn’t figured the bases true nature out yet; the bases intentionally looked like they belonged to different groups. This facility had been used to craft weapons, quenching them in blood. They had done damn fine work, these men, and Yulong hadn’t been able to evacuate them northward in time.
Now they were charred corpses on the ground.
Another one of his comrades leaned down and brushed her fingers over a corpse’s eyes, closing them.
“You shall be avenged, brothers and sisters,” she whispered.
Yulong sighed at the waste, and a fresh feeling of loathing for Lu Ban settled in his chest. He had no idea how the little bastard had managed to cock everything up like this. Alerting the Shrouded Mountain Sect and letting the bloodseed of the Twilight Cuckoo’s Triumph get destroyed? Hells, he had so many plans for the division that was supposed to form around the idiot, but here they were without the refined technique.
Now, it was his job to limit the damage. A task… well, it was worse than he’d hoped, but better than his most pessimistic calculations.
Shenhe moved fast, and her Inquisitors were better than had been reported. Yulong had very little leeway left for his mission, and Shenhe was getting very close to the Tearing Tooth Base—something they couldn’t afford to lose, or have breached. To top it all off, his ‘Sister’ had managed to get her part done, so he was truly running out of time.
But… well, a man should perform best when he's under pressure. He walked through the facility a bit more, seeing the vice captain laid against the ground. One finger was extended, and a symbol of his own blood lay upon the floor. The man had spent the last of his breath and blood scratching the symbol into the ground—and Yulong smiled at what it meant.
He had Zang Shenhe’s next destination.
And now… well. She had left him this present. So he would leave her one of his own.
And then he’d deliver to his Master a pretty gift. He had heard Shenhe was a beauty, with hair of spun gold and stormy eyes.
He turned to his still seething subordinates.
“Hey. Beidou, Zhigong.” Both paused and turned to look at him. “Pack up. It's time for us to start the second stage of the plan.”
His subordinates grinned. “We gonna get her, boss?” Zhigong said, a savage grin on his face.
Yulong smiled and ran his fingers through his black hair, tinted with green. He turned his purple eyes towards the horizon.
His grin was tight, as it stretched the freckles on his nose.
“Don’t you worry. Have my plans ever failed before?” he asked.
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Editors: Massgamer, Oshi
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Epilogue 1. Not much to say about this one, other than "dun, dun, dun."
Comments
Akki
Or he finds out about Mdiling and eventually his ancestor and then finally rejects the demonic path. I like a good redemption story.
Crazynorse
"walking through the corpses of the destroyed base" should probably be either "the corpse of the destroyed base" or "walking among the corpses in the destroyed base" depending on what the focus is meant to be. Also "The bodies were blacked" should be "blackened" though "scorched" is a viable alternative.
Oni
Well, it seems Meimei's distant relative is a demonic cultivator with a future lifespan that can only be described as "terminal". Shame that.
AG
what exactly did he change seems the same to me?
Oskatat
your changes were good, it makes a lot more sense now
Sebastian Rubin
"Oh, there's too many of you for just a can. Good thing Master gave us a spare barrel of his own brew!" BREAK THE ROCK
Sebastian Rubin
Don't you mean face fist?
Vladerag
The next volume is going to be called, "Casual landscape rearrangement with Shen Yu." Subtitle: "Wasn't there a mountain there once?"
Vladerag
World: "Dun dun dun!" Rou, Tianlan, and Shen Yu: "...is that the sound of someone asking for second helpings of whoopass? I got another can right here, let me just pop it open."
Anonymous
The world has enough wandering cultivators and not enough insane qi fudge.
nugitoBambino
lu ri is hilarious. "she could be a powerful wandering cultivator...[receives fudge]... this is really for the best tho"
BigBro Bluesman
Next book that butterfly is going to have her wings clipped
WolfKnight22
I see a whole brewery full of whoopass about to be opened. I almost feel sorry for these fools
Marcin
Guy just raised his own flag... how stupid :D
SoralTheSol
I am just gonna enjoy the fact that these morons are probably gonna run face first into Badass Grampa Shen Yu.
Robert Adams
Perhaps a distant relative of the Hongs?
Robert Adams
It's probably a matter of pride. No one's going to admit, even in private, that their sect got spanked by a hidden master in the "weakest" province. The shrouded mountain sect probably doesn't even go the hills that often and so they would have just stopped giving people reasons to go there, no one's going to complain.
jetblackvalias .
I wonder if the Shrouded Mountain cultivators we met previously will be making an appearance again? Seems odd no-one has mentioned (even in anger) that the Shrouded Mountain are banned from setting foot in the Azure Hills.
WyrdWizard
lol
DrNutella
Nice Ending. Though why can i see it? I checked my settings and i am not subscribed to you.
AntiMatter
...must...resist.....Genshin.....REFERENCES....
Pierre laplant
Woo
D J Meigs
Dun dun dun is correct 😱next volume is gonna be a hell of a ride
James Squibb
The second to last line....
CrazyExplorer
A character beign stupid is not a narrative plot hole. If it is in-character for them to be stupid, or have their reasons to act stupid, then there no reason for it to be "off". Also, in ancient chinese culture, blind obedience to one's elders was considered a virtue. If an elder says you must be angry at someone and punish them then you got angry went to punish, even if it makes no sense or had no reason to do so. You must agree with everything an elder said.
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter.
Arnon Parenti
Bruh your plans fail literally at conception by this point, rest a little.
11037
I think the first part is a little bit off. They come across as so stupid that mind control must be involved.
Aune
* biting the handkerchief * so short, yet so sweet
CrimsonEclipse
Lol, I don't even feel bad for the stupid parts of the SM, they deserve what's coming to them.
Jojiro
Not sure if I'm missing a reference but...these are just...Chinese names?
Gamer Doyle
The two that are named are new, the unnamed boss is probably not as he is probably the unnamed guy who gave the report to demonic sects master about Elder Shenhe's campaign against them.
Bender
Hope SM runs into Shen Yu on their way. Would be so much fun.
Xtriver
Yep, gramps is heading over there to check it out.
OrangeJuice
Btw did Jin tell Gramps or Lu Ri about Shrouded Mountain fiasco?
jak8714
Okay, five minute summary: Huan Chen is a (presumably) low level member of the Shrouded Mountain sect, who are a bunch of your typical cultivator assholes, complete with unfounded arrogance and the intelligence of a lemming. Being morons, members of their sect have already been responsponsible for assaulting members of Fa Ram twice- first when Lu Ban (impersonating one of their members) assaulted Jin with two helpers, and second when Lu Ban (still impersonating one of their members) set a team of Shrouded Mountain cultivators against the entire Azure Hills; an event which ended in Lu Ban's death, and a massive loss of face for the entire sect. And now Elder Zang, who was implicated because Lu Ban was impersonating his son, is going to try and take on Fa Ram for the third time- in no small part because he's being led around by the nose by a demonic cultivator (who could be considered a 'sibling' to Lu Ban, the imposter). Lu Ri, on the other hand, is a perfectly dutiful Junior Member of the Cloudy Sword Sect, a well known and pleasantly righteous sect from way out...west? Whatever, nowhere near the Azure Hills. Anyway, he was responsible for delivering Jin Rou's mail, and has just been an all around decent dude. As for the third section, this seems to be centered around members of the Twilight Cuckoo's sect, a group of demonic cultivators centered around a fucking ancient cultivator dude. Currently, the majority of the sect is embroiled in an ongoing conflict with the Shrouded Mountain sect for the crime of inserting Lu Ban into their ranks (as an imposter). Naturally, the Twilight Cuckoos don't appreciate having their doors kicked in and their shit burned down, so they're preparing a nasty surprise for Shenhe, an elder from the Shrouded Mountain sect with an extra special grudge (since Lu Ban ate her favorite 'cousin'.).
ethan maloney
Ok, I feel like the Shrouded mountain is about to be cleansed of most members.
Thanatos
Meimei have a cousin nobody talks about?
Moonspike
But... he left. It doesn't matter how strong he is if everyone dies before he even hears about the problem. And while we know that won't happen it doesn't change the fact that Shen Yu and most of the more martial members of the farm will be gone when trouble comes to call.
Szymon Szczełkun
So in the end this whole twiligh coockoo is sect? Tehnique? Or person because the more chapter comments i read the more confused i am
dragonslaver
Can someone lead me through the "who is who and did what" I have a memory of a toast and can't remember xD
Victor Segura
Its great... but at the same time is very difficult to feel any sense of tension because Gramps is there. I mean, here is in another place and the farm is at his lowest defense... yet shen yu is such a trump card that its begget imagination that any of this powers would be anything more than annoyance or window dressing. Its like Jin in the tournament but 10000 more... more. Even the dandelions travel feel somewha toothless because they have jin and shen yu backing. Hell, having the full backing of the emperor might be even less effective in the long run in comparison
8 racoons in a trench coat
I see someone has been playing genshin impact, going by all the names haha
Qahlz
Are the characters in the last paragraph new or do we know them already? I don't remember them at all.
Garrett
Yeah, you and I are on the same page here 😁
Pebble
/// Lu Ri could easily imagine her, in another life, walking the path of a powerful wandering cultivator. “Oh! And I made you some maple fudge for the road!” But naturally, her current life was the best for her. /// Never change, Lu Ri. Never change.
Sean Ulrich
Dun Dun Dun!!!
Anzer'ke
I do love the little hints at the story that could otherwise have been, like how Meiling could so easily have become a wandering cultivator out for revenge after the Sun Ken destroyed her village. Zang is going two for two on getting fooled by the Cuckoos. Which is pretty hilarious. And Bi De has what looks like a pretty fun plotline getting set up for him too. All in all, this epilogue fills me with anticipation.
Gamer Doyle
Welp Gramps, and Company are headed to Shrouded Mountain, Lu Ri is headed back to Cloudy Sword to get what Gramps requested. I suspect he is not going make the round trip slowly. Thus the Twilight Cuckoo's Triumph sect plans might just run into a few problems.
Vexdt
Yeah I am on the same page with you here 😞
BlissForgotten
Honestly the type of epilogue I love, sets the scene for next book and gets us debating which way it could go. Looking forward to the next book!
ShadeByTheSea
Honestly the type of Epilogue I hate, I'd rather stuff like this be in a prologue. They do not make me look forward to the next book.
yannick schwende
Why would they have to die? If it is merely for plot then I disagree. They might get wounded but death doesn't really fit the tone of the story. And even then I doubt it
Dwayne Parker
Bout to be the book of thrown hands, huh?
Justin
Thanks for the chapter.
StarBat
I hope there's no break 🥺
BargleNawdleZouss
Ominous!
Thunderhoof
Eyy. Gone are the peaceful times, I'm counting Chunky and Bei Be's death. Maybe Meiling.
