Scripture of Days Past

After learning of Layman Evergreen’s plan, Chu Qiguang returned to Jade Face Mountain, while Qiao Zhi remained with the fiends.

Chu Qiguang had to make preparations for the attack that was set to take place on the day of the half-yearly examination, and the first thing he needed to do was uncover the identity of the black-robed mole.

There had been four tentacles extending from the black-robed figure’s shadow, and among everyone Chu Qiguang had seen on Jade Face Mountain thus far, only Yang Ling and Yi Shuang fit that description.

Thus, Chu Qiguang began closely observing the two during their lessons.

Among the lecturers, Yi Shuang was known for being friendly and approachable. He diligently instructed the trainees and showed no signs of having any connection to a cult.

As for Yang Ling, he spent most of his martial arts lessons currying favor with Jiang Longyu, but he was still a competent and dutiful instructor, and all the trainees had been improving rapidly under his guidance.

On the surface, neither of them appeared to be colluding with the Immortal Dao, so Chu Qiguang could only turn his attention to the tentacles extending from their shadows and the text drifting out of their bodies.

The tentacles didn’t provide much information, but the text proved to be decisive.

Recently, the tag attached to Yi Shuang had read: ”Yi Shuang the traitor.”

That immediately convinced Chu Qiguang that Yi Shuang had to be the mole. However, during the martial arts lesson that same day, he saw the tag attached to Yang Ling, and it read: ”The malicious Yang Ling.”

”What’s wrong?” Yang Ling asked, feeling a little awkward under Chu Qiguang’s intense scrutiny.

”Nothing,” Chu Qiguang replied with a smile. ”What did you want to see me about, Instructor Yang?”

”You’ve been looking into weapons lately, haven’t you? I’ve prepared a selection of weapons manuals for you to choose from,” Yang Ling said as he laid out a stack of manuals. It was truly an extensive selection.

There were manuals for sabers, spears, swords, halberds, staves, hammers, and even hidden weapons such as flying daggers and darts. Clearly, Yang Ling had spent a great deal of time preparing them.

Chu Qiguang felt deeply perplexed as he looked into Yang Ling’s earnest eyes.

Are all moles this dedicated to their work these days?

Chu Qiguang examined the dozens of weapons manuals Yang Ling had presented to him, and he was thinking to himself that if he mastered all of them, then he would surely be invincible below the Dao Comprehension state.

So one is a traitor, and the other is malicious? Which one is supposed to be the mole? Maybe I should just kill them both? No, that would only prematurely raise the alarm. I’ll have to test them first.

With his mind made up, Chu Qiguang approached Yi Shuang and Yang Ling separately. He told each of them that during his latest procurement assignment, he had heard from a villager at the foot of the mountain that there had been sightings of fiends nearby.

He told Yi Shuang that the villager had seen a huge white fox, while he told Yang Ling that the villager had seen a man with the head of a dog.

Several days later, Chu Qiguang left the mountain once again to cultivate the Sumeru King Scripture.

”Has the mole said anything to you and the other fiends recently?” Chu Qiguang asked.

”He got into an argument with the white fox, Han Ying, yesterday,” Qiao Zhi replied. ”He told Han Ying to settle down and stop attacking the nearby villagers.”

So it’s Yi Shuang!

With Yi Shuang confirmed as the mole, Chu Qiguang began using his connections on Jade Face Mountain to investigate him, hoping to find concrete evidence of his collusion with the Immortal Dao.

***

”Instructor Yi? I can’t say I know much about him, but he’s doing a fine job,” Li Chu replied, responding to Chu Qiguang’s question. ”He’s the only instructor who goes out of his way to cater to the students who are falling behind, and even after the end of his lessons, he’s always happy to stay behind and answer our questions...”

***

”Instructor Yi is a great guy. The only thing I don’t like about him is that he’s too biased toward Jiang Longyu,” Zhang Haizhu said. ”He’s always giving Jiang Longyu his notes and providing him with exam papers from previous years...”

***

Inside the Daoist temple on Jade Face Mountain, Zhao Lingxiao pulled out a stack of Daoist scriptures and set them down in front of Chu Qiguang. He had purchased them during a recent trip down the mountain, and they had cost him several hundred taels of silver.

”Yi Shuang? He’s a very devout believer of the Profound Origin Dao Lord. He used to come here to pray every month. The last time I saw him activate a Demon Vanquishing Talisman, the light it produced was so bright that it illuminated the entire hall! However, at some point, he seemed to have become very busy, and it’s been a long time since he last came to the temple... How long has it been? I’d say about a year.”

***

”Yi Shuang? He’s very knowledgeable and knows a great deal about all the cults in the world,” Li Jian said as he examined the plants in front of him. ”He’s from the Dao Soldier Faction, and I heard he was once in the running to inherit the Silent Shadow Step, but he was eliminated during the selection process... How long ago was that? I think it was around ten years ago.”

***

Yang Ling was in the middle of instructing Jiang Longyu when Chu Qiguang asked him about Yi Shuang.

”Yi Shuang is a good lecturer.” Yang Ling replied. ”He’s been on Jade Face Mountain for over ten years, and he’s always been very diligent and good at his job...”

The two of them chatted briefly before Chu Qiguang turned to leave.

”Hey! You’re not going to ask me?” Jiang Longyu called after him.

”What could you possibly know?” Chu Qiguang asked.

Jiang Longyu was infuriated by the dismissive and condescending look in Chu Qiguang’s eyes.

”I know a lot about Yi Shuang!” he snapped. ”He’s given me all of his notes, and I often go to his room for extra lessons!”

”And?” Chu Qiguang scoffed.

Jiang Longyu was growing more flustered by the second, and he yelled, ”And... And one time, one of our extra lessons finished too late, so I slept in his room! Have you slept in his room before?”

”That’s it?” Chu Qiguang asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chu Qiguang’s dismissive attitude only infuriated Jiang Longyu further. His mind raced as he racked his brains for more information he could offer.

”One time, I saw Yi Shuang learning about ghosts! He said Lecturer Song Ming is going to be transferred away next year, and he’ll be taking over Lecturer Song Ming’s classes, so he has to start studying now!”