Li Qi blinked. "Isn’t this... isn’t this, well, an admission..."
"How is this an admission? This is one of our Taoist Sect’s Techniques, called ’sliding down the slope’! Whatever you say, I just go along with it!"
Li Qi clasped his hands, squatted on the ground, and said, "Then you can’t blame me. Who told you to use a Technique on me? Besides, at the time, I didn’t feel I was affected by any Technique. You telling me afterwards about ’sliding down the slope’—isn’t that deceitful?"
"Who deceived you? The essence of ’sliding down the slope’ is to ’go with the flow.’ If you could detect it, would the Technique still be effective?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don’t understand. What’s all this about ’going with the flow’ or not?"
"How can you not understand? To ’slide down the slope,’ you first need a slope. You have to create that slope. It can’t be too gradual, nor too steep. If it’s too gradual, things won’t progress smoothly. If it’s too steep, you’ll easily reveal flaws."
Li Qi asked, "Then how do you grasp the timing?"
"The timing..." Sun Tiecheng took the knife from Tang Changfa’s hand. "You little bastard, still trying to wheedle Techniques out of me? I’ll bloody well chop you up!"
Everyone quickly stepped forward to restrain Sun Tiecheng. Tang Changfa, his eyes gone, clung to Sun Tiecheng and cried, "City Lord, this isn’t the Shopkeeper’s fault! The Eldest Young Master is too much; he’s rubbing salt in our wounds!"
Seeing Tang Changfa’s pitiful state, Sun Tiecheng relented slightly. "I know Rusong can be a bit too outspoken at times, but you didn’t have to be so harsh!"
Li Qi interjected, "This isn’t just about him being outspoken. He defected to the Inner State to be their dog! He tried to snatch Loess Bridge from me to offer it to the Inner State."
"Nonsense!" Sun Tiecheng retorted, unconvinced. "Don’t think you can just pin everything on him now that he’s dead."
Li Banfeng had no evidence, but Sun Tiecheng had his own way of verifying it.
He patted Gu Rusong’s back, muttering slowly, "You’re alive. You’re alive. You’re still alive. You can move, and you can eat. I say you’re alive, and so you are..."
After chanting this more than a dozen times, a sound rumbled in Gu Rusong’s throat.
Li Qi was startled.
This was not resurrection.
This was Sun Tiecheng’s method. While Gu Rusong’s Soul had not completely departed his body, Sun Tiecheng made him firmly believe he was still alive, turning him into a living corpse.
Gu Rusong gripped Sun Tiecheng’s hand, struggling to speak. "Save me, Master... Save me..."
Sun Tiecheng’s face was grim. "You defected to the Inner State? And you intended to give Loess Bridge to the Inner State?"
Just as Gu Rusong was about to speak, Sun Tiecheng suddenly added, "Tell me the truth!"
As he spoke, Sun Tiecheng had, by some unknown method, taken hold of Gu Rusong’s Soul. The slightest flicker of his Soul would turn Gu Rusong to ash.
Gu Rusong dared not lie; he had to tell the truth. "I had no choice. My cultivation level reached the Tenth Layer, so I was bound to go to the Inner State. They ordered me to do things, and I had to..."
Sun Tiecheng’s palm slowly swept over Gu Rusong’s Soul. "You’re dead. You are dead. Your Soul has turned to ash, your body has returned to the earth. I say you are buried, and so you shall be!"
BANG!
Gu Rusong’s Soul, along with his body, turned entirely to dust.
Watching the dispersing dust, Li Banfeng was shocked. Sun Tiecheng was devastated.
His eyes reddened. He sniffled, then choked out a sob, "It’s over... My eldest disciple is gone!"
After crying for a moment, he sensed the atmosphere was off. He turned to Li Qi and demanded, "Why aren’t you crying?"
Li Qi, squatting beside Sun Tiecheng, sniffled twice, then opened his mouth wide and wailed, "It’s over! Our Eldest Senior Brother is gone!"
The two cried together, one wailing long, the other sobbing short. Their cries were filled with sorrow.
After crying for a good while, Sun Tiecheng still felt the atmosphere wasn’t right. He turned to the crowd in the Book Residence and roared, "Why aren’t you all crying?"
Tang Changfa faced a group of young women and wailed, "It’s over..."
He was blind, crying in the wrong direction.
"Over there!" Yan Hong’er nudged Tang Changfa.
Tang Changfa turned, and the young women joined him, wailing in unison, "It’s over! The Eldest Young Master is gone!"
PS: The entire Fool’s City was filled with cries.
Such a great story must be told in one breath!
Thanks to Alliance Hierarch Tianji’s Tail Miao, thanks to Alliance Hierarch Xiaofeng Chao, and thank you both for your strong support.