Chapter 4: Ning Zhongze's Heartache
"Hopeless. Truly hopeless! Look at these Mount Hua disciples. Aside from pretending during morning practice, none of them train properly. All they think about is playing!"
"Can't you cultivate seriously? Doesn't any of you want to fight for Mount Hua's revival?"
"Look at yourselves. So lazy. Not a single one truly working hard."
"Look at me— ah. Other than morning practice, I didn't train today either. Lying down feels great. As expected, someone with a golden finger doesn't need to cultivate."
"Tsk tsk. You bunch of useless fellows. Do you have my golden finger? And you still dare to slack off like me?"
"Hopeless, hopeless. No wonder Mount Hua will fall. With disciples like you who refuse to strive, how could it not decline? It truly pains my heart."
"Haven't seen Old Yue all day. He must've gone down the mountain to Fujian. The Bixie Sword Manual… heh."
"Next, the Fuwei Escort Agency will be wiped out by Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect. Only Lin Pingzhi will escape and head to Hengshan for help. Sadly, this jianghu has few good people. Lin Pingzhi will be like a three-year-old child carrying a chest of gold in the streets—who wouldn't want to snatch it? In the end, Old Yue will use the name of the Gentleman Sword to take him in. But Lin Pingzhi won't see Old Yue's true face, and eventually he'll be forced into becoming twisted."
"In Smiling Proud Wanderer, early Lin Pingzhi is truly a good man. A pure-hearted one. When he saw Yu Canghai's son bullying a girl, he stepped in without hesitation. He was beaten cruelly and even accidentally killed that man. Yet he didn't know the girl didn't need saving at all—she was Yue Buqun's daughter. If she had revealed her identity, who would dare bully her? Later, Lin Pingzhi killed Yue Lingshan. Though it was called an accident, perhaps part of it was deliberate. Not only because of Yue Buqun, but also because he felt deceived by Yue Lingshan."
"Clearly Lin Pingzhi had a chivalrous heart. After his parents were captured and his family destroyed, he fled in hunger and poverty. He would rather beg than steal, and wouldn't harm even a peasant woman who insulted him. A man like that was pushed into darkness. This world… truly has no heroes."
"Old Yue, this is your sin."
"No. If we trace it back, it's all Linghu Chong's fault!"
"If Linghu Chong had a bit of responsibility—if he understood Old Yue's struggles and passed on the Five Mountains sword techniques, their counters, and even the Dugu Nine Swords—Old Yue wouldn't need to practice the Bixie Sword Manual. If he didn't practice it, he wouldn't fall. If he didn't fall, Lin Pingzhi wouldn't be driven to that path."
"Feng Qingyang told him not to reveal anything to Old Yue, and he truly said nothing. Especially at the Medicine King Temple, when Zuo Lengchan sent men to besiege Mount Hua, nearly wiping them out. Junior Sister and Shiniang almost died—almost suffered humiliation. Old Yue fought desperately but was powerless. That despair… it must have crushed him. Yet Linghu Chong held the Dugu Nine Swords and still kept silent. How could Old Yue not feel bitterness?"
"Ah? Another thousand words already. Fine, that's it for today."
Ye Xiu closed the diary, sensing the growth of his inner energy and the lightness skill that had advanced from beginner to proficient. His mood lifted instantly.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhongze had spent the entire day watching Gao Genming, yet gained nothing. When she opened the diary again and saw a new entry, she frowned.
"So the writer isn't Gao Genming."
She temporarily crossed him off her list and began reading.
At first, the exaggerated grief over the disciples' laziness, followed by the writer casually admitting he didn't train either, almost made her laugh despite herself.
But when she reached the part about Lin Pingzhi being forced down a dark path, especially the mention that he later killed Yue Lingshan, her brows tightened.
Should she pity him… or hate him?
Yes, he was pitiful. A young master of the Fuwei Escort Agency, reduced to ruin, manipulated at every step, eventually forced to practice that sword art. Yet he killed her daughter. Even if by accident, how could she not resent him?
Then those words again—Yue Buqun practicing the sword art. They pierced her heart.
And the part about Zuo Lengchan sending men to besiege Mount Hua, nearly killing her and Yue Lingshan… it filled her with fury.
Not just toward Zuo Lengchan.
But toward Linghu Chong as well.
Linghu Chong—she had raised him like her own son. Yet he hid so much from Yue Buqun and from her, leading to such a tragic outcome.
Were the people who raised him from childhood worth less than a promise he made to Feng Qingyang?
If Yue Buqun had the Dugu Nine Swords, would he need to scheme against Lin Pingzhi? Would he need to practice that sword art? Would Mount Hua fall into ruin?
Her heart ached.
Ning Zhongze took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.
"This diary may be strange, but what it says isn't necessarily true. Chong'er was raised by me and Senior Brother. He wouldn't become the person written here. None of this has happened yet. It may never happen."
She comforted herself like that.
Her feelings for Linghu Chong were too deep. She truly didn't want to believe he could be so unfilial.
Yes, he loved wine. Yes, he disliked hard training. Yes, he often dragged his junior brothers and sisters around to play instead of cultivate. Yes, he caused trouble outside.
But Ning Zhongze believed this—
Linghu Chong was a good boy.